


Real Heroes

by jess (jess_m)



Series: All of Time and Space [3]
Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: BAMF River Song, BAMF Rory Williams, Canonical Character Death, Character Death, Eleventh Doctor Era, Established Relationship, F/M, Major Original Character(s), Marriage, Married Couple, Married Life, Multi, Original Character(s), Original Character-centric, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, POV Third Person Limited, Past Character Death
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-21
Updated: 2018-08-06
Packaged: 2019-05-09 21:36:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 80,550
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14724014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jess_m/pseuds/jess
Summary: After finally marrying the Doctor, Ariel thinks she knows what she has signed on for. That is until, after being killed right in front of her, her husband comes back, she finds out the one thing she never thought possible may actually be happening, and her best friend spends every waking moment in living fear of her own skin.In a life where nothing is assumed to be easy, things are about to take a turn for the absolute worst.This story is third and final in my 'All of Time and Space' series. If you have not read the first two stories in this series, 'Meant to Be' and 'Here We Go Again' please go back and do so otherwise this will not make sense.





	1. An Invitation

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Doctor Who. I do not own any plot lines, characters, or dialogue originally found in the show, any comics, or any minisodes. I simply own the writing, the changes made, and any original characters.
> 
> This story is third and final in my 'All of Time and Space' series. If you have not read the first two stories in this series, 'Meant to Be' and 'Here We Go Again' please go back and do so otherwise this will not make sense.

“You’re out of milk!” A distant voice from the centre of a small kitchen cried.

Her brown hair, falling just past her shoulder swung around as she turned from the fridge and her bright grey eyes danced as she greeted the face of her favorite redhead.

“Rory’s just gone out to get some more,” Amy Pond smiled. “But until he gets back, look at this,” she said.

Amy stepped over to the side of her best friend, Ariel Parsons, and held out a large red book but while Amy was guiding her eye towards the text on the page, Ariel was more interested in the cover.

“Is this a history book?” Ariel frowned. “Since when are you reading history books for pleasure? You only like reading them when we make appearances.”

“And we did,” Amy nodded. “Well, in a way, I suppose. Look. It’s about the Doctor.”

“Let me see what time it is,” Ariel said, taking the book from her and reading through it. “Ah, King Charles,” she hummed, a small smile gracing her lips as she read. “Yep, this is him,” she sighed.

As she passed the book back to Amy, she dismissed the matter, heading back into the sitting room and picking up a small book on the sofa. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.

“What, you’re just fine with this?” Amy frowned. “You don’t want to know more?”

“I don’t need to know more,” Ariel shrugged. She plopped down on the sofa and smiled at her story.

“I turned to the stranger who seemed to know so much about not only the world but my own personal experiences. Experiences that had solemn left my lips through all my hated years on Earth. ‘What can you tell me of the creation? What fate has befallen that treacherous monster?’

He walked across the room and collapsed back into an old chair, pausing before he responded as though every thought that crossed his mind were not only well-thought but analyzed for every repercussion they might convey.

‘He’s not a monster, first off. Second off, he’s learning. He’s learning how to greet people. How to say things like, ‘hello, Ariel!’”

Ariel giggled softly and flipped the book shut before turning to Amy with a calm but raised brow. She had received messages from the Doctor everywhere, it was only fate that the redhead would start receiving them as well.

“You don’t think this means something?” Amy implored with a shake of her head as she fell down on the sofa beside Ariel.

“I think it means the Doctor is being reckless which is really exactly who he is,” Ariel chuckled.

“But he left you here,” Amy reminded her. “He’s got to have some reason for doing this now.”

“Maybe he does,” Ariel agreed. “Or maybe he doesn’t. Or maybe this is stuff he’s done ages ago and we’re just reading way too into all of this,” she proposed.

“Of all the people to indulge this I figured you’d be the first,” she frowned.

“I was. I am,” Ariel corrected with a shake of her head. “But I know the Doctor and I know he wouldn’t just be reckless to get out attention. He’d go out of his way to shout out a message from the past. I’m talking like writing in the sky, impossible to ignore messages.”

“You’re no fun when you don’t believe,” Amy pouted and Ariel laughed as she headed back into the kitchen to get a snack.

Just then, the front door slammed shut and the soft shuffling of shopping bags entered the house.

“I’m home!” Rory called from the entrance.

“Oh, thank God,” Ariel sighed, hanging her head as Rory rushed inside.

“Look I got you some of those crisps you liked,” Rory smiled, dropping the shopping on the island at the centre of the kitchen and pulling out a small bag for Ariel to see.

“Brilliant, but can you please talk to your wife?” Ariel requested. “She thinks she’s seeing the Doctor everywhere.”

“Amy, what’s she talking about?” Rory moaned, seeming already exhausted at the very mention as he pulled a loaf of bread out of the shopping bags and put it away.

“Just listen to this,” Amy said, marching into the kitchen with the red history book still in her hand. “At the personal intervention of the King, the unnamed Doctor was incarcerated without trial in the Tower of London,” she read.

Ariel began helping Rory put away the shopping as Amy continued to flip through the book, giddy when she found any mention of the Doctor.

“Okay, but it doesn’t have to be him,” Rory reminded his wife with a small frown.

“Thank you!” Ariel exclaimed, tossing her hands in the air in exasperation.

She knew full well the Doctor was trying to grab her attention, but after the way he had just left her at the Ponds without even so much as a reason why she  wanted him to actually show up before she planned on listening.

The day he dropped her off was very strange indeed. He had woken up far earlier than she did and when she awoke she felt they had landed.

She tried to ask him where they were, but he evaded the question as much as possible. He had never done that to her. She was the one person he told even the most painful of locations or times to. But not this time.

He then took her to the Ponds and told her he would pick her up soon, but he had work to do. When she asked what work, all he said he has found a way work out the silence and with that he left her with a painful wheezing.

Ariel flicked on the telly as Amy persisted in insisting her history book detailed an adventure of the Doctor.

“According to contemporary accounts, two nights later, a magical sphere some twenty feet across, was seen floating away from the tower, bearing the mysterious Doctor aloft,” Amy read.

Ariel groaned and rolled her eyes as she knew. It was him. She knew it was him. She’s told Amy it was him, but that didn’t mean she wanted them both to decide that for themselves.

“Okay, it’s him,” Rory decided.

Amy grinned and Ariel let out a soft huff at her clear defeat.

“Hold on, there’s more,” Amy frowned, flicking further through the book and further into history.

“Oi, Ariel, can you put on  _Flying Deuces_?” Rory called from the kitchen.

“Yeah,” Ariel nodded and picked up the remote as Amy hit the second World War in her history book.

“The mysterious Doctor was the source of a failed escape plan when he lead a group of refugees straight into the middle of the commandant’s office and so got them all captured. That night the unnamed Doctor was spotted entering a foreign police box and evading execution,” Amy read.

She and Rory headed into the living room and started watching Rory’s old film together while Ariel rested on the sofa, only partially listening to Amy’s historical accounts.

The redhead slammed the book shut and paused, lost in thought about what the Doctor could be doing, or planning.

“It's like he's being deliberately ridiculous, trying to attract our attention,” Amy sighed, unsure of the Doctor might do that. “Are you watching this again?” She asked, frowning at the old film on the screen.

“It’s not so bad,” Ariel shrugged, peering over her book where she had grown lost in the story of the unnamed character talking to Victor Frankenstein.

“Yeah,” Rory nodded in agreement, highly enjoying the brunette's presence, always there to agree with him. “I’ve explained the jokes,” he reminded Amy.

The doorbell rang, excusing Amy from the conversation as she got up to answer it.

“Hold on, did you pick up some more of that Earl Grey tea?” Ariel asked Rory with a small frown, just narrowly missing the sight of the Doctor on the television running up to the camera donning a fez and waving wildly.

“No, I thought you said it smelled funny,” Rory reminded her.

“I said the fermented tea smelled funny,” Ariel sighed in frustration. “Never mind,” she shook her head. “I’ll pick some up on the way to work tomorrow.”

Rory simply nodded and picked up Amy’s history book as the redhead herself stormed into the room with two blue envelopes.

Envelopes that looked just like the ones Ariel and the Doctor had used for their own wedding invitations.

“Hey, this is for you,” Amy said and tossed a blue envelope onto Ariel. “Since when did you start putting our address as your own? I thought you’d just assumed you were going to stay here for a bit and go back on the Tardis?”

“I am,” Ariel insisted with a nod as she opened her letter. She knew she would be going back to the Doctor, she just knew when he returned she would have a few choice words for the man who had left her stranded in a driveway with a single suitcase worth of clothes. “He did say he’d be in touch,” she reminded the couple.

“Fair enough,” Amy shrugged.

“Hold on, he said that two months ago,” Rory frowned.

“Two months is nothing,” Amy scoffed as she too opened her envelope. “He's up to something. I know he is. I know him. We know him,” she said, tossing a smile at Ariel while the brunette tugged a piece of paper out of the envelope.

She and Amy both sucked in sharp breaths simultaneously as they read the information on the paper.

_22/ 04/ 2011_

_16: 30 MDT_

_37° 0’ 38”N  110° 14’ 34” W_

“What is it?” Rory asked, turning in the chair he sat on to the two women staring at their identical envelopes with large eyes. “Ariel? Amy?”

“A date, a time, a map reference,” Amy listed. “I think it's an invitation,” she smiled, glancing down at Ariel who grinned.

“It’s about time,” Ariel hummed.

“Who is it from?” Rory asked.

“It's not signed,” Amy shrugged

Ariel narrowed her eyes at the envelope and frowned at the pristine ‘1’ on it where on the other side there were dozens of postcards as though the envelopes themselves had been all over the world.

“Look, Tardis blue,” Amy grinned, tossing the envelope to her husband so he could see for himself.

“Where does this lead to?” Ariel wondered, pulling out her phone and typing in the map reference.

“Well?” Amy prompted. “Where is it?”

“San Juan,” Ariel breathed. “America,” she said, glancing up at Amy and nodding as though to reaffirm her words. “He wants us to go to America.”

“Oh, great,” Rory moaned. “First Paris, now America. I swear sometimes I think he’s forgotten that he’s the one with a spaceship,” he muttered and the two women laughed.

“Well, we’re going right?” Amy asked, glancing between the two people who might just consider stopping her. “Going to follow the invitation?”

“Of course, we’re going,” Ariel scoffed. “Strange letters in the mail with no signature. We have to go,” she smiled.


	2. Space 1969

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's a little treat in here for the Clara fans if you squint. I've been considering writing another OC that travels with the Doctor and Clara or the Doctor and Rose since they're some of my favorite companions. Let me know if you'd be willing to read something like that. It would obviously have it's own underlying plot as each story in this series does it would just be set during a different time.

Ariel, Amy and Rory all stepped off the school bus clutching their bags tightly. The trip to America and scouting out the correct destination had taken them three days, but luckily they had help from friendly locals to get them where they needed to be.

Ariel pulled off her sunglasses and frowned at the desert-like area. She donned a small sundress and sneakers, knowing full well that where the Doctor was involved wearing any other type of shoe was highly ill advised.

“This is it, yeah?” Amy prompted, glancing around the desert. “The right place?”

“That’s what the map says,” Ariel mumbled, glancing down at the map on her mobile. 

“Nowhere, middle of?” Rory said, seeming annoyed at the very location they had taken days to reach. “Yeah, this it,” he hummed.

“Howdy,” a voice greeted behind them.

They all spun around to see the Doctor lounging on the hood of a big American car donning a Stetson as he smirked at the group.

“Doctor!” Amy exclaimed. She immediately ran up to him and jumped into his arms, hugging him tightly.

“Ha, ha! It's the Pond!” The Doctor laughed, hugging her back just as tight.

“Hey!” Amy giggled.

“Ariel!” He exclaimed, turning to his wife with a large grin.

Ariel granted him a momentary flash of a smile before walking up and smacking him hard across the cheek.

“OW!” The Doctor cried and rubbed his now pink cheek. He turned to Ariel’s large eyes and almost heartbroken face and sighed softly, nodding as he looked down at her. “Okay,” he decided. “I deserved that.”

“Two months!” Ariel shrieked. “No phone calls. No explanations.”

“I didn’t want to get you involved till I knew for sure what I was dealing with,” the Doctor insisted.

“Well, I sure as hell hope you’ve got an explanation for me now,” Ariel said, shooting a glare that could take his happiness down a peg.

“I do,” the Doctor assured her with a nod. “I’m sorry,” he muttered and Ariel accepted the apology with a single nod. “Did you get my messages?” He smirked, trying to bring a joyous smile back across her face.

He had missed her smile. One that could make both his hearts cry out in joy.

Ariel grinned as she looked up at him. “How could I?” She shrugged. “You were in basically every book I’ve read,” she chuckled and the Doctor beamed at her. 

He needed to hear her laugh. He needed to hear that soft but musical song she sang every time she laughed. 

Neither the Ponds nor Ariel knew how long it had really been for this Doctor. This man came from the future and had seen so much that still awaited the group. So much pain, so much torture and so much devastation still awaiting the bright beaming faces before him.

“What, what?” Amy frowned. “You’ve been getting messages from him this whole time?”

“Nothing much,” Ariel sighed. “He said hello to me in  _ Frankenstein _ ,” she smiled and the Doctor chuckled at the memory. 

It had been a fight to get that exact edition of  _ Frankenstein  _ into Ariel’s hands but seeing her reaction made it all the more worth it.

Ariel knew she couldn’t forgive him this easily no matter the greetings he had left in her stories, but the great thing about their relationship is the Doctor knew that as well. He knew it wouldn’t be as simple as an apology and a hurried explanation and he knew that they would have to work to recover what they had lost over those two months. 

She wanted more time. More understanding why he couldn’t take her with him when he investigated whatever this silence was.

She would laugh with him and spend time with him but she would not forgive and she certainly would not forget until he told her what happened. 

The better part of it all being, of course, that he would always tell her. At the end of the day he would always tell her no matter how bad or worrisome it might be.

She was the only girl in the universe to whom the Doctor told everything.

“Never mind that,” the Doctor dismissed with a wave of his hand. “What about you, Pond? Did  _ you  _ see me?”

“Of course,” Amy chuckled.

“Stalker,” the Doctor laughed, teasing Amy with a gentle nudge against her shoulder.

“Flirt,” Amy retorted with a smile, nudging him back.

“Husband,” Rory reminded them with a raise of his hand as though he were in a classroom.

“Wife,” Ariel added with a nod. 

The Doctor laughed and wrapped Ariel in a tight hug, spinning her through the air as she giggled before dropping her back on the ground and draping his arm over her shoulders as he turned to address Rory.

“Rory the Roman!” The Doctor exclaimed. “Ooo, come here,” he hummed, pulling the man into a hug as well.

“Hey, nice hat,” Rory remarked, smirking as he looked up at the Doctor’s Stetson.

“I wear a Stetson now,” the Doctor nodded, pushing his hat further down on his head while he smiled. “Stetsons are cool.”

“Oh, here we go,” Ariel moaned. The next new hat phase was already upon them. 

As though an answer to her prayers, a gunshot rang out and the hat flew off his head. 

There on the side of the road, River Song stood beaming at the group as she blew the smoke from her gun.

“Hello, sweetie,” she said and Ariel laughed happily.

“River!” She exclaimed. She ran up to the woman and hugged her tightly as the woman chuckled delightfully in her ear.

“Hello, love,” she hummed.

~~~

Later on that day, the five of them all sat in a diner while the Doctor and River compared diaries. 

Ariel was squeezed into the booth, practically sitting on the Doctor’s lap in the small booth. 

She had tried to look into the Doctor’s diaries, thinking they were adventures she had mostly been on before but the Doctor pulled the diary to the side and shot her a look that seemed both pained and wary of her actions.

There was something he wasn’t telling her. 

He got her a serving of chips as though intentionally distracting her from the diary. She hated the way it made her more curious.

“Right then, where are we?” River sighed, holding up her diary. “Have we done Easter Island yet?”

“Er, yes!” The Doctor exclaimed, his eyes brightening as he found the diary entry. “I've got Easter Island.”

“They worshipped you there,” River hummed, smiling warmly at the Doctor. “Have you seen the statues?”

“Who’s Jim the Fish?” Ariel frowned, catching just a few words in the diary.

“Oh! Jim the fish!” River exclaimed. “How is he?”

“Still building his dam,” the Doctor mumbled. “Have we gotten to the secrets?” He asked, glancing between Ariel and River.

“First one,” Ariel nodded, taking another bite of her chips. “Not the one about my Dad though.”

“Ah, right, that makes things much clearer,” he hummed.

“Sorry, what are you three doing?” Rory frowned, leaning forward curiously across the table to the couples. 

“They're all time travellers, so they never meet in the right order,” Amy explained. “They're syncing their diaries,” she smiled and Ariel flashed a grin at her, knowing her own diary was basically the Doctor’s. Amy leant forward and raised a brow at the Doctor. “So, what's happening, then? Because you've been up to something. Something you couldn’t even take Ariel along for.”

The Doctor passed an apologetic gaze at Ariel and she just let out a small huff of frustration, but said nothing. 

“I've been running, faster than I've ever run. And I've been running my whole life,” the Doctor muttered and Ariel greeted him with a small frown. “Now, it's time for me to stop. And tonight, I'm going to need you all with me,” he sighed.

“Okay,” Amy nodded. “We’re here. What’s up?”

“A picnic,” the Doctor smiled. “And then a trip. Somewhere different, somewhere brand new.”

“Where?” Ariel frowned.

“Space, 1969,” the Doctor responded and Ariel grew entirely confused. She had been to through most of space in 1969 with the Doctor. It was hardly somewhere different or new. 

There was something wrong and she just wished the Doctor would open up to her and tell her what was happening. She knew he would eventually, but she was growing anxious with the build up.

~~~

In a picnic by the lakeside, Ariel sat wrapped in the Doctor’s arms as they all did a toast. 

“Salud!” The Doctor exclaimed.

“Salud!” They all chorused.

Ariel brought the drink to her lips and snorted when she spotted the Doctor doing the same with a bottle. This was not going to end well.

“So, when are going to 1969?” Rory wondered as he sipped his wine.

“And since when do you drink wine?” Amy frowned as she spotted him holding the bottle of wine up.

“Right?” Ariel snorted. “Just what I thought,” she hummed.

“I'm eleven hundred and three,” the Doctor shrugged. “I must've drunk it sometime.”

“Yeah, and you hated it,” Ariel reminded him. “You told me never to let you drink wine again.”

“Oh, my taste buds must have changed,” the Doctor dismissed with a wave of his hand. He brought the bottle to his lips and took a sip.

Sure enough, he spat it out just moments later making Ariel roar with laughter.

“Oh, why it's horrid,” the Doctor moaned and Ariel giggled as she moved the bottle of wine away from him. “I thought it would taste more like the gums.”

“Next time, rather than following your gut just follow my advice,” Ariel giggled. 

The Doctor chuckled and pulled her as close as he could, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. 

His grip on her was so tight, it almost seemed as though he’d rather die than let her go.

Ariel turned to him with a small frown and cupped his cheek. “Hey, what’s wrong?” She mumbled. “What happened while I was away?”

“So much,” the Doctor breathed, shaking his head solemnly and closing his eyes to hide the shimmering tears. “I’m sorry it had to be like this. I’m sorry we couldn’t end better.”

“Doctor, what do you mean?” Ariel muttered. “Did you find something from the future? Did you go into our future?”

“Something like that,” the Doctor murmured. “But just know whatever happens, whatever we have to face, I will always love you,” he promised, cupping her cheek and brushing her cheekbone.

He looked at her face as though he were memorizing every inch of it. Every flaw, every bit of perfection he fought to burn into his memory.

“Hey,” Ariel breathed, holding his hand and smiling at him. “It’s going to be okay,” she assured him. “I love you and we have forever to work out what happened. There’s no need to worry.”

“Yes,” the Doctor muttered shakily though his tone conveyed he believed the complete opposite. 

He sucked in a sharp breath and wrapped his arm around Ariel, pulling her close and pressing a shaky kiss to her head. 

Ariel twisted in his grasp and sat up on her knees to press a kiss to the Doctor’s forehead. He closed his eyes as she kissed him before letting out a soft sigh. 

She laid back down on the blanket and rested her head in his lap. He combed his fingers through her hair and she smiled up at him as he gazed up at the moon, still visible during the day in the desert.

“Ah, the moon,” the Doctor hummed. “Look at it. Of course, you lot did a lot more than look, didn't you? Big, silvery thing in the sky. You couldn't resist it,” he smiled.

“Never could resist big silvery things in the sky,” Ariel smirked, referring to the general obsession with UFO’s.

“Quite right,” the Doctor chuckled.

“The moon landing was in 69,” Rory reminded them with a nod. “Is that where we're going?”

“Oh, that’s boring,” Ariel moaned. “Been there twice. Once on Earth and once on the moon. Neil was quite nice,” she remarked and the Doctor grinned and nodded. 

“No, you’re right,” the Doctor agreed. “There’s much more interesting things to see in 69. A lot more happens than anyone remembers,” he smiled. “Human beings,” he hummed. “I thought I'd never get done saving you.”

Ariel’s eyes widened at that. The way he spoke and the way he seemed so afraid when he talked to her along with the fact that he was so much older than she had last seen him only meant one thing.

He wasn’t inviting them over for a nice picnic and a trip. He would never have gone that long without talking to Ariel. 

This wasn’t a pleasant day by the lake.

This was the future Doctor inviting them to his own funeral. She choked back a sob at the realization and the Doctor’s arms instinctively encircled her, knowing immediately that she had worked it out.

He spun her around and her vision had already begun to blur, her chest feeling physically in pain at the very thought. 

“No, no, Ariel, look at me,” the Doctor instructed, cupping her cheeks.

She shook her head furiously, her own tears making it hard to see as she wanted more than anything to just scream out in pain. 

“This has to happen. You understand?” He implored, raising a brow and searching her face for any sign that his words may be getting through to her. “I have to do this.”

“No,” Ariel sobbed, tears beginning to fall down the cheeks. “No, no, I don’t want to see this,” she cried. “Please, don’t make me see this.”

“It’ll be okay,” the Doctor assured her, his voice solemn and soft as he spoke only for her. 

He swiped at the tears streaming down her cheeks and sighed softly, tears of his own beginning to blue his vision as he watched the woman he loved cry.

“Oh, you are so brilliant,” the Doctor sighed, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “You can get on past this. You’re so brave, you can-.”

“No!” Ariel cried, her head falling against his chest as he hugged her tightly. 

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor whispered, hugging her tighter than he ever had. “I’m so sorry,” he mumbled.

Just then, a car rolled up to the hill and an old man walked out. Begrudgingly, the Doctor moved away from Ariel and stood up to wave at the man.

“Who’s he?” Amy frowned, following his line of sight to the old man.

“Ariel?” Rory mumbled, scooting over to the brunette who had fallen in on herself in tears. “Ariel, are you alright?”

“Leave her Rory,” the Doctor instructed.

“But I-,” Rory began, genuinely flabbergasted that the Doctor might ask him to leave his crying wife alone.

“There’s nothing we can do,” he shook his head. “There’s nothing anyone can do,” he sighed.

“There has to be something,” Ariel insisted, looking up at him with reddened eyes. “Something we can do to stop it.”

“There isn’t,” the Doctor mumbled sadly.

“Oh, my God,” River gasped. She stood up and on the horizon, just at the very edge of the water stood an astronaut.

The Doctor took a shaky breath and closed his eyes. He glanced down at Ariel still crying and tilted her chin up. He pressed a shaky kiss to her lips and momentarily bowed his head so he could place his forehead against hers.

“I’m sorry,” he breathed. 

“Don’t leave me,” Ariel begged.

“I have to,” the Doctor sighed. 

He kissed her one last time before sucking in a deep breath and turning back to the astronaut. “You all need to stay back,” the Doctor instructed the group. “Whatever happens now, you do not interfere. Clear?” He prompted and they all nodded.

Ariel stood up as he walked away and sniffled, wiping her eyes as she watched him head up to the astronaut.

“Do you know what this is?” Amy frowned. “Do you know what’s happening?” She asked her best friend.

“I don’t,” Ariel mumbled, shaking her head numbly. “I can’t.”

They watched as the astronaut lifted it’s visor and the Doctor solemnly bowed his head. 

“What’s he doing?” Amy murmured. 

Then Ariel witnessed the worst thing she would ever have to see. The astronaut fired a shot straight into his chest. 

It felt like she was the one being shot in the chest with the impact it had on her. 

The voices of her other three friends grew foggy as they scrambled after the Doctor and Ariel fell to her knees, letting out a dying scream.

Another shot was fired and Ariel felt like she couldn’t breath. 

The world sounded as though it were underwater as tears streamed down her face and she cried out in agony. She and the Doctor were both dying.

As regeneration started, she just wanted to cover her ears and let it end but she heard the final shot ending his life. 

She looked up and saw his body laying on the ground and wanted to run away in fear. 

She felt physically in pain as she watched Amy and River run to his side. Rory glanced back and his eyes grew wide as he spotted Ariel curled up into a small ball sobbing in fear. 

She wanted to shut out the world. She wanted it all to end. She had never wanted to live to see the day the Doctor died before her. 

Rory ran over to her side and wrapped his arms around her. “Ariel?” He breathed, trying to pull her out of her own seclusion. “Ariel, come on. You have to get up.”

“Why?” Ariel breathed, barely speaking through her tears. “What’s the point?”

“The Doctor would have wanted you to get back up,” Rory reminded her.

“The Doctor is dead!” Ariel snapped, her tears coming out full force. Her heart felt like it ripped to pieces in her chest, burning in pain as she watched Rory just watch her sadly. 

Ariel choked out a sob and pulled Rory into the tightest hug she could manage while still crying. 

Without the Doctor she was half of a whole. She was a broken fragment of the girl she had been and even inch of her burned with the pain of his loss. Without him she felt like a lost little child, unsure of where to turn next. 

“I know,” Rory mumbled, rubbing her back in comfort. “I know.”

“Miss?” A voice behind her prompted. There was a soft tap on her shoulder and Ariel sniffled, wiping her eyes furiously before turning to the sound. 

It was the old man the Doctor had waved to.

“I’m sorry,” the man said genuinely and Ariel choked back a sob as she looked up at him. “I know your husband meant a lot to you, but he said if anyone could do this it would be you,” he told her, holding out a petrol can. 

Ariel wanted to fall into another pit of tears, but rather than let the Doctor down, she took a shaky breath and nodded.  Ariel accepted the petrol can from the man and Rory frowned at it. 

“Gasoline?” Rory implored with a small frown.

“A Time Lord's body is a miracle,” Ariel mumbled, her face numb and almost devoid of emotion as the pain overwhelmed her mind. “Even a dead one. There are whole empires out there who'd rip this world apart for just one cell. We can't leave him here. Or anywhere,” she shrugged. 

From beside the Doctor’s body, River’s eyes widened and she put her potable computer away to join them while Amy continued to sob over the Doctor.

“Wake up. Come on, wake up, you stupid, bloody idiot,” Amy pleaded. “What do we do, Rory?” She asked, turning to her husband for guidance. 

Ariel almost wanted to cry at the very sight. She remembered when she would do that for the simplest of things. She felt all that she had lost in waves. There were moments of complete numbness as her mind seemed to be racing to catch up with the fact that the Doctor had actually died before her, but when the realization kicked in it sent her spiralling as he mind forced forward memories of when she was happy with the Doctor but may not have seized the moment as much as she should’ve.

“River,” Ariel breathed, swaying on her feet in the sand. “I-I don’t think I can do this,” she muttered, though still maintaining a death grip on the petrol can as though it were the last piece of the Doctor she could still keep. 

“It’s alright, my love,” River assured her. The woman tried to wrap her arms around the brunette and Ariel jumped back as though she had been burned.

“Don’t,” Ariel murmured, shaking her head furiously. “Just don’t.”

River’s eyes were wide but she nodded all the same. 

Rather than pass the petrol can to River, Ariel turned to Rory who’s eyes remained focused on a small boat on the creek. “There's a boat. If we're going to do this, let's do it properly,” he nodded, turning to Ariel and raising a brow.

“Alright,” Ariel mumbled.

She headed toward the boat and pulled it up so Rory could pick the Doctor’s body up and place him inside the boat. 

River lit some matches and after Ariel poured the petrol across the boat, she lit it on fire and Rory pushed it out to the lake.

They stepped back and watched as the boat slowly burned until sunset, none of them saying a word the entire time.

Ariel almost regretted being so upset with him when she had first arrived. Sure, he hadn’t given her a reason to his departure but compared with what he had come there that day to face a little while not hearing from her husband. 

The brunette wrapped her best friend in a partial hug and they both sat watching the man they had known their whole lives be burned.

Eventually, River stepped forward to address the old man who had shown up without introduction or explanation. 

“Who are you?” River asked the man, her voice thick with grief as she spoke. “Why did you come?”

“Same reason as you,” the man sighed, pulling out a Tardis blue invitation from his coat and holding it out to River.

Ariel cast a frown over her shoulder as she pulled out her own invitation and compared it to the man’s.

Why would the Doctor invite someone they had never met?

“Ariel, Doctor Song, Amy, Rory,” the man said, nodding to each of them in turn. “I'm Canton Everett Delaware the third. I won't be seeing you again, but you'll be seeing me,” he hummed.

And with that, Canton walked away and headed back to his truck.

Ariel stared down at the invitation with wide eyes as she processed what that man had said. The Doctor had left them a mystery to be unraveled but she didn’t know if she had it in her to solve it.

However, as she looked up and met River’s wide eyes she knew the woman was going to start working it out regardless.

“Five,” River muttered.

“Sorry, what?” Rory frowned.

“The Doctor numbered the envelopes,” River informed them with an adamant nod. “We need to get back to the diner.”

They all shared curious looks but none found themselves disagreeing as they all exchanged exhausted nods and followed along.

“Ari, let me see your envelope,” River requested as they started heading through the desert back to the diner. 

Ariel sighed softly as she looked down, not wanting to give up the last message from the Doctor but eventually she nodded slowly and passed it to her girlfriend.

“One,” River breathed as she glanced at the number on the front of the envelope.  “Right,” she nodded and glanced down at her own number. “One, three,” she said, turning over her own envelope so they could see the number three. “And let me see yours.”

Rory passed River his and Amy’s envelope and River flipped it over.

“Four,” River mumbled. “So, we’ve got one,” she said, pointing to Ariel. “Three,” she said, pointing to herself. “Four,” she sighed, pointing to the Ponds. “And Canton was five, so-.”

Before she could finish her sentence, Ariel’s mobile rang out.

“Sorry,” Ariel winced. “The Doctor fixed my phone so I could talk to my Mum occasionally but the timings all screwed up. She calls me at all sorts of weird hours. Technically in UK time she should be asleep by now,” she sighed as she pulled out her phone and glanced at the caller ID.

Her heart stopped beating in her chest when she saw the name listed.

_ Bowtie. _

“Oh, my God,” Ariel muttered. 

“What, what is it?” River frowned.

“It’s the Doctor,” Ariel breathed. She immediately answered the phone on the second ring.

“Doctor?” Ariel gasped.

“Yeah, Ariel, hello,” the Doctor smiled sadly. “I know you don’t want to talk to me right now but we were wondering if you’d like to come to Venice?” He offered.

“Venice?” Ariel frowned. “We’ve been there loads of times.”

“No, we haven’t,” the Doctor mumbled. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten the chance to take you there yet.”

“Oh,” Ariel sighed. She turned to the trio meeting her with wide eyes and held the receiver to her chest.

“Well?” River prompted with a wave of her hand. “Is it him?”

“No, Riv. It’s not him. He’s calling me from the past.”

“Why would he being doing that?” River frowned. “He upgraded your phone he should get the call right all the time.”

“I dunno why!” Ariel exclaimed, tossing her hands up in the air helplessly. “I guess the Tardis mixed it up again.”

“Hold on,” the Doctor said. “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one, Doctor,” Ariel smiled. “You’re looking for the past me, and don’t worry. Jack has calmed me down enough for me to be willing to talk to you again,” she assured him.

“Really?” The Doctor smirked. “Well, that’s good to know. Bye, Ariel.”

“Er, wait, Doctor?” Ariel prompted before huffing out a soft sigh. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” the Doctor frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Ariel gulped harshly and shook her head. “It’s nothing,” she hesitated. “Spoilers,” she said.

“Ah, alright. Goodbye for now, then,” the Doctor nodded.

“Goodbye, my Doctor,” Ariel said, her voice cracking as she spoke.

Ariel hung up the phone and River placed a gentle hand on her back as she hung her head. “He told me he’d caught a version of me from the future, but I never thought,” she mumbled.

“I’m sorry, my love,” River sighed. “But it’s still not over yet,” she assured her. “He left us something to work out,” she reminded her.

“What you mean the envelopes?” Rory frowned as they stepped back inside the diner.

River nodded. “The Doctor numbered the envelopes,” she told them. “You got 4, I was 3, Ariel was 1 and Mister Delaware was 5.”

“So?” Rory prompted with a small frown.

“So, where’s 2?” River wondered and Ariel’s eyes grew wide.

“What, you think he invited someone else?” Rory implored.

“He must have,” River shrugged. “He planned all of this, to the last detail,” she reminded them.

Ariel turned to the counter, her eyes wide as she looked down. There was someone else. There was someone that could have shown up. A whole list of people ran through her mind from the likely to the ridiculous.

Either way it meant one more person. One more person she could talk to that might be able to understand what she was experiencing.

She sat down by the counter while Amy snapped at Rory and River for thinking out the Doctor’s intentions while he was dead.

Ariel was the one person in the universe that may know more about the Doctor than anybody. She knew his name, though she only wished to call him by his chosen one. She knew about his children and his family on Gallifrey and she had seen every single one of his previous faces as well as watch him regenerate twice. 

She was the girl he had chosen his last face for. She was the one he had married after ages of being alone when his wife on Gallifrey died. If anybody could figure out what he was thinking, it was her.

“You alright?” A feminine voice behind the counter implored.

Ariel looked up with pale cheeks, worn out with the circling emotions the Doctor had placed upon her in a single day.

However, the girl’s eyes widened as though she had seen her before. 

The girl had brown hair pulled back into a ponytail and large doe-like eyes. The girl had the spirit of a nanny or a girl that may spend her life taking care of children. She certainly seemed as though she had the spirit or energy to put up with lots of kids. 

She donned a blue and white waitress uniform and smiled kindly at Ariel as she narrowed her eyes at the brunette. “Have I seen you before?” She asked.

“Don’t think so,” Ariel shook her head. “But I travel a lot. I may have forgotten,” she confessed.

“I used to travel too,” the girl chuckled. “But I was traveling with this bloke and he sort of, well he forgot about me.”

“I’m sorry,” Ariel mumbled. 

“It’s alright,” the girl shook her head. “I’ve got a new mate to travel with. But never mind me, are you sure we haven’t met? I swear I know your face from somewhere,” she insisted.

“I don’t think so,” Ariel shrugged.

“What’s your name?” The girl asked.

“Ariel,” Ariel said. “Ariel Parsons.”

The girl’s eyes widened and she turned away, covering her mouth as she did so. “I-I’m sorry,” she breathed. “I didn’t realize.”

“What do you mean?” Ariel frowned. “Do I know you?”

“I’ve heard about you,” she smiled softly. She thought back on all the times she had heard stories of the girl sitting before her. All she had given to keep her friends safe. 

“But that doesn’t matter now,” she shook her head. “Go back to your friends. I reckon they’ll be needing you,” she smiled.

Ariel frowned and narrowed her eyes at the strange woman. “Okay,” she mumbled. 

She turned back in her seat to River, Rory and Amy as River was consoling the redhead. 

“He still needs us,” River insisted. “I know. Amy, I know,” she hummed, her voice cracking as her despair peeked through when she spoke. “But right now we have to focus.”

“Look,” Rory gasped and pointed to a booth at the end of the table where a blue envelope just like theirs sat.

“The other invitation,” Ariel breathed. 

She ran up to the table and grabbed it. Sure enough, there was a bright number ‘2’ on the envelope. She turned to River and when the woman raised a brow, awaiting an answer as to whether or not this could be the individual they were looking for, Ariel simply nodded.

Rory rushed up to the strange girl behind the counter. “Excuse me, who was sitting there?” He asked, pointing to the booth.

“Some guy,” the girl shrugged. “He should be back any minute if you’re looking for him,” she offered, a small smile on her lips as she knew they were.

It was strange to see the group the Doctor had traveled with before she came along. She had seen his past faces, sure, but knowing the people the Doctor had run with and regarded with the utmost love and respect before she had ever crossed his path was fascinating to say the least.

These were also the days before the Doctor knew who she was. Before the Doctor had crossed the universe in search of her. 

She knew she had to hide when he came back out but she sincerely hoped she got the chance to catch another quick glimpse of him before she headed back to Ashildir. 

Meanwhile, the group were still trying to work out what the Doctor had done and who he had invited. 

“The Doctor knew he was going to his death, so he sent out messages,” River reminded them with a nod. “When you know it's the end, who do you call?” She smiled.

“Er, your friends,” Rory said, his brain racing to catch up with what the Doctor might have done. “People you trust.”

“Number 2,” River muttered. “Who would the Doctor trust just below Ariel herself?”

Ariel smirked knowingly. She had worked it out already. She knew the Doctor and she knew the one person he just had to have arrive at his own wake.

The door behind her swung open and only confirmed her suspicions. 

While River, Rory and Amy all let out soft gasps of horror, she just grinned as she stared at the Doctor.

“Husband,” Ariel beamed.

“Wife!” The Doctor exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. He wrapped her in a tight hug and Ariel giggled as he spun her around. 

When he placed her back down on the ground she let out a soft smile and looked up at him. “Right then, now that that’s sorted.”

She brought her hand up and smacked the Doctor hard across the cheek. “Two months?!” She exclaimed.

“Okay!” The Doctor cried, rubbing his cheek as he stared down at Ariel with large eyes. “I probably deserved that, but I promise there’s a good explanation,” he assured her.

“Well, I can’t wait to hear it,” Ariel sighed, crossing her arms as she glared at him. 

She already knew she was dealing with a past version of the Doctor, meaning a Doctor closer to the one that left her behind. While she regretted smacking the wrong Doctor, she now knew who to direct her anger towards.

“This is cold,” River hissed. “Even by your standards, this is cold,” she muttered, her voice shaking as she spoke.

“Or hello, as some people used to say,” the Doctor frowned. He glanced down at Ariel, the woman who always offered an explanation when he found himself confused, but she just winced and turned away.

“Doctor?” Amy gasped.

“I can understand why Ariel’s mad at me, but why you lot?” The Doctor wondered. “I just popped out to get my special straw. It adds more fizz,” he smiled.

“You’re okay,” Amy breathed, stepping up and placing her hands on his chest as though not quite believing he was really there. “How can you be okay?”

“Hey, of course I'm okay,” the Doctor frowned, pulling Amy into a tight hug. “I'm always okay. I'm the King of Okay. Oh, that's a rubbish title,” he winced, pulling away and wrapping an arm around Ariel. “Forget that title,” he shook his head, but his eyes brightened when he caught sight of Rory. “Rory the Roman!” He exclaimed with a clap of his hands. “That's a good title. Hello, Rory,” he smiled. “And Doctor River Song. Hello,” he hummed.

Rather than return the sentiment, River slapped him hard across the face.

“Ow!” The Doctor cried. “Okay. I'm assuming that's for something I haven't done yet,” he sighed, rubbing his cheek.

“Yes, it is,” River nodded, firmly. She had begun to catch on after Ariel’s reaction and understand what he had done.

“Good,” the Doctor mumbled bitterly. “Looking forward to it,” he said sarcastically. “Blimey, two smacks in one day,” he hummed and Ariel snorted.

Amy just stared at him in confusion. She remembered he had received a smack from Ariel by the lake when they first arrived, so why was he acting like that smack was the first time? And why was Ariel repeating herself as though he had not yet heard her frustration at being dumped at their house for two months.

“I don’t understand,” Rory mumbled, and Amy let out a soft sigh, grateful that she was not the only one unable to catch on. “How can you be here?” He wondered.

“I was invited,” the Doctor sighed, taking the two envelopes Ariel held, her own and his, and holding them up as proof. “Date, map reference. Same as you lot, I assume, otherwise it's a hell of a coincidence,” he muttered.

“Ariel, what’s going on?” Amy asked.

The redhead had learned long ago that there was a certain chain of understanding when it came to traveling across time and space. The Doctor usually fell first, understanding the planets, times and people they traveled in. Ariel fell second, she had a grasp on most things and was able to follow the Doctor’s train of thought so when trying to understand something the Doctor was unable to explain, she was a perfect second.

After her came River. River had experience just like the pair of them and was usually just behind the couple when understanding events. Then there was Amy and Rory who was still newest on board and often suffered the consequences when trying to understand what they came up against.

“It’s simple,” Ariel assured her. “Doctor, how old are you?” She asked her husband.

“Same age as when you left me,” the Doctor muttered, frowning at his wife. “Nine hundred and nine. What, did you think I’d go a whole year traveling without you?”

“What?” Amy frowned. “But he said he was-.”

“So where does that leave us, huh?!” River snapped, cutting Amy off before she could give spoilers. “Jim the fish? Have we done Jim the fish yet?” She demanded.

“Who’s Jim the fish?” The Doctor hummed curiously.

“Just what I was wondering,” Ariel chuckled. She alone was the one who could distract the Doctor from exploring further into spoilers. River was overwhelmed with understanding, Rory was still slowly beginning to understand and Amy stood clueless of how any of this was possible.

Ariel often found when traveling with the Doctor she had to stifle her emotions and sometimes even her curiosity to save from spoiling the future. She wanted to cry and scream in agony at the memory of the Doctor falling to the ground on a loop in her own mind but the Doctor she sat with had no idea what happened.

Not only that, but while her closest friends overwhelmed with grief, she had to keep the tone light so when they risked slipping up and spoiling something to the Doctor she could recover for them.

“I don’t understand,” Amy muttered.

“Yeah, you do,” Rory nodded, a look of clarity passing over his face as though he had cleared through the fog and finally got a grasp on what was going on.

“I don’t!” The Doctor cried, throwing his hands up in the air furiously. “ What are we all doing here?!” He exclaimed.

“It’s a long story,” Ariel shrugged. 

“We've been recruited,” River said shakily, her voice slow and steady. Each word she took was measured so she did not risk revealing her sadness. “Something to do with space 1969, and a man called Canton Everett Delaware the third,” she explained.

“Recruited by who?” The Doctor wondered, glancing at Ariel and River for answers.

“Someone Ariel trusts more than anyone in the universe,” River hummed and Ariel beamed up at him.

The Doctor’s eyes widened and he glanced down at her. “Are you sure?”

“Absolutely positive,” Ariel sighed, smiling softly at her Doctor.

“Okay, then,” the Doctor hummed. “Space, 1969,” he nodded. “Let’s go,” he said, grinning around at all his closest friends.


	3. The Oval Office

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I use the codename "Mary Sue" in here. Mary Sue is fairly controversial as there is a definition of it with origins in sexism, but I do not under any circumstance mean to use that meaning.
> 
> There are many different definitions of what Mary Sue could be and I simply use this codename as a joke. Mary Sue is often thought to be the "perfect" character. So perfect that it's almost annoying as she is smart, beautiful, and basically good at everything. Ariel in no way is this type of Mary Sue character nor do I want her to be. 
> 
> I use this as a joke because comparing her to the Doctor and looking at her through his eyes, she is perfect. She doesn't excel at everything and she isn't the drop dead brilliant woman that Mary Sue is often attributed as being. She is perfect because she has flaws which the Doctor sees, but Ariel still believes this name to be ridiculous as you will see.
> 
> Again, Mary Sue has a lot of meanings, I'm only using this because it was a short codename that worked and I intend it wholeheartedly as a joke. If anyone is offended or does not like the use of the term in this manner, please notify me and I will replace the name with something different.

“1969, that's an easy one!” The Doctor exclaimed, running into the Tardis victoriously. “Funny, how some years are easy,” he hummed and Ariel smiled warmly at him as she brought her bag into her room.

She had been away from the Tardis for longer than she had in a while and when she got the invitation she had brought along the bag of all the essentials she had left with.

She swung open the door to her room, the room she stayed in before she started sleeping beside the Doctor every night. 

The Tardis had designed the room perfectly for her, adjusting to her every little interest as the machine had gotten to know her. 

The room started out pale white but blossomed into a warm violet as the ship unearthed her favorite colour. Though the Tardis had taken the liberty of putting gorgeous royal designs throughout the violet.

What had once been blank walls were now flooded with pictures and Frank Sinatra posters. Her bookshelves had all been filled with the books she pulled out of the library most often, her wardrobe with the clothes she may like most based on what she usually got. She had even been gifted with a record player and a few records just after her first birthday with the Doctor, though she never knew if that had been him or the Tardis and he certainly enjoyed not telling her.

She had gotten carpets and journals and her bed had even grown to a Queen size after the Doctor had spent a week just sleeping with her in her room.

It helped to make her feel at home when she wound up having to move into the Tardis. Even when she moved into the Doctor’s bedroom, it was still a nice place to lay back and collect her thoughts.

Time that she certainly needed after seeing the Doctor die.

She knew she would have to go back out and explain things for the others, but for the moment it was nice to lay back and think.

After their wedding, Ariel and the Doctor had spent eight months straight traveling together. It was the longest they had ever traveled together and the Doctor enjoyed calling it ‘the universe’s longest honeymoon’.

She had even managed to find her birthday with the Doctor and the pair spent the day with Frank Sinatra who knew how to throw a damn good party for her birthday. 

However, that all came to a spiralling close when they met with one of the Doctor’s old friends: Dorium Maldovar. 

The blue alien told the Doctor of a prophecy, something the Doctor claimed may help him work out what the silence falling was. When River was in the Tardis some strange voice had claimed, ‘silence will fall’, and the Doctor had kept the words in the back of his mind until a day he could get more information.

That day came when they visited Dorium. 

Ariel never knew much about what the prophecy Dorium gave to the Doctor was, but the Doctor had just said he got more of the phrase River heard. He said he had to search for a question and rather than allow her to search with him, he took her back to the Ponds and never elaborated on what was happening or why she couldn’t help before he dematerialized.

Ariel spent the next two months going over everything the Doctor had told her and everything she had seen trying to work out what she had missed and why after eight months he had dropped her and left. 

She became so frustrated with her inability to work it out that when his messages in her favorite songs, shows, movies, and books came: she never responded or gave him a voice. 

She didn’t talk to him. She didn’t seek him out and while she may have spared the occasional smile or laugh at his messages she never did much else.

She missed him and the only reason she wasn’t spiralling into a much darker mindset was the presence of the Ponds to keep her company.

The Doctor probably knew that. He knew if he dropped her off on her own she would feel as lost as she had the last time he had done it after her mother died. That’s why he dropped her off with people she knew and loved.

Though there were times when she wondered just how he was coping without her as last time he claimed he made the rules of time and they obeyed him back on Mars. His actions resulted in a poor woman committing suicide and terrifying him.

However, while she waited for the Doctor her friendship with Rory had blossomed. She had accompanied him most days to the hospital because she grew ansty sitting in their house with nothing to do. 

After years of traveling with the Doctor, she needed something to do constantly or she would go out of her mind. So, she went with Rory to the hospital where she could be in a busy bustling environment and not got mad thinking about the Doctor or what she could be doing. 

Eventually, after three weeks straight of her always being with him in the hospital, Rory suggested getting a job. 

She decided to get a job working as an assistant for a magazine editor as she knew she would lose her mind working in a quiet library again. This way she was able to do something fairly easy while constantly keeping busy.

She had managed to forget the Doctor for a while, taking his messages in stride and carrying on with her life until he invited her to Lake Silencio.

Then, she had planned on giving him what for after leaving her for two months. 

That plan spiralled and crashed when she realized he had brought them there to watch him die.

She had never wanted to see that as long as she lived. She had selfishly hoped that she would be the first to grow old or die so only one of them would have to feel this kind of pain.

Experiencing life after seeing the Doctor die was torturous. She wanted to scream until her throat was raw at the pain she felt in her chest, but found she had to suppress those emotions.

Usually, when she felt angry or devastated she would turn to the Doctor and he would offer the comfort she always sought, but she couldn’t even turn to him now. She couldn’t even got to the Doctor and tell him that she saw him die and she just needed him to hold her and tell her everything would be okay.

She couldn’t even begin to wrap her mind around the fact that that was possible in the first place.

Though, she supposed, she should come to accept it. Her parents had comforted her at her wedding after she relived the pain of losing them. 

The Doctor had died and was able to talk to her and calm her fears that he may not love her anymore after his death. 

But this was different. It  _ felt  _ different. 

She couldn’t tell the Doctor about this because this death was permanent and it was his own. 

She considered talking to River, but while she loved the woman it felt strange going to her for comfort. She wanted someone more familiar.

Amy was an option, but while the redhead offered help, she herself was still confused about how the Doctor was alive and why they couldn’t interfere. She appreciated Amy, but she needed someone who understood why she couldn’t say anything to the Doctor despite seizing his comfort every time she had been upset before.

She could go and seek consolation from one of her friends on Earth or one of the Doctor’s past companions, but even if the Doctor didn’t take her there himself she would still have to land the Tardis to get there and the pair of them both always felt when the Tardis landed. He would know something was wrong if she was going somewhere without him and she wouldn’t be able to explain why she suddenly needed to cry with Jack or Sarah Jane.

That left only one person and she would have to explain things a bit more in detail to him before she could seek his comfort, and that meant stifling her emotions and tears.

She took a deep breath and sat up in her bed. She turned and on the left wall of the room, right beside her bed were dozens of photos.

In one of the photos, she, the last Doctor, and Donna all stood on the Planet of the Ood grinning with some of the Ood.

“Oh, Donna,” Ariel sighed, holding the picture delicately so it still remained on the wall while she looked at it. “I wish you were here. You’d know what to do,” she mumbled. 

She had suffered a lot of losses when traveling with the Doctor, but Donna was still one of the worst. The fact that her first real friend was still alive but could never talk to her again never stopped torturing her. She could go visit her anytime she wanted, but the ginger would have no idea who she was. 

She sighed softly and released the photo. She turned back to her room and silently wondered when so much loss had encompassed her life. She had suffered before she even met the Doctor, but it seemed now she reached a point in her life where it had all just piled on in the worst kind of way.

Begrudgingly, she got up from her bed and headed out where the Doctor was still laughing victoriously about space, 1969.

“Now, 1482, full of glitches,” he remarked with a short nod. “Now then, Canton Everett Delaware the third. That was his name, yeah?” He smiled, nodding to Rory who was now the only one left in the console room. 

Amy and River had both gone down to the lower level to deal with their grief about the future Doctor away from the present one. “How many of those can there be? Well, three, I suppose,” he chuckled.

“Doctor!” Ariel called and the Doctor glanced over his shoulder with raised brows. “Have you been feeding my dog?” She wondered and the Doctor paled.

“Er, he’s a smart dog. Doesn’t he know how to feed himself at this rate?” The Doctor asked and Ariel’s eyes inflated.

“Doctor!” Ariel shrieked.

She ran to the garden room while the Doctor chuckled softly and shook his head. 

“You’ve been feeding Rufus haven’t you?” Rory sighed.

“Yeah,” the Doctor grinned. “I just love messing with her. I feed him everyday when she’s gone.”

Ariel walked into the console room with the now full grown golden retriever by her side and no humour on her face at all while the Doctor laughed.

“That’s never been funny. What makes you think it’s going to start being funny now?” Ariel wondered.

“Because your humour has grown so much since he first moved on board,” the Doctor laughed. He walked up to her and wrapped his arms around her while Rufus ran up to Rory barking happily. 

“I hate you,” Ariel said, a smiled etched across her lips despite the contradictory words.

“No, you don’t,” the Doctor hummed and kissed her sweetly. 

Ariel grinned against his lips and began to deepen it, but a soft voice pulled them away from each other.

“Ariel,” Amy murmured. “We need you.”

Ariel huffed in frustration, wishing for just once she could relish in a kiss with the Doctor when she needed it most without anybody interrupting. The Doctor simply chuckled softly at her reaction.

“I knew this was coming,” Ariel sighed. “I’ll be right there,” she assured the redhead with a nod.

Amy nodded in return and Ariel spun to see Rufus happily licking Rory’s face. “Well, that solves that problem,” Ariel mumbled. “Are you coming down, Rory?”

“In a minute,” Rory assured her.

Ariel nodded and the second she began heading down the steps, Rufus leapt off Rory and raced to follow Ariel.

“Rory, is everybody cross with me for some reason?” The Doctor asked, frowning after Ariel as she disappeared from view. 

“I’ll find out,” Rory said and headed down after them.

There, in the lower level of the console room Ariel explained what has happened to River, Amy and Rory in detail. 

“I just don’t understand it completely,” Amy sighed. 

“I’m not sure I can offer it in terms easily understandable,” River nodded.

Ariel sighed as she plopped down into the swing the Doctor kept in the lower level when he was doing repairs the Tardis neither wanted nor needed.

“Remember when the Doctor said he called a future version of me back before our first Venice trip?” Ariel reminded Amy.

“Yeah, but how is that similar?” Amy wondered. “I mean he died. He actually died.”

“I know, but that was just another version of the Doctor. One about two hundred years older than the one up there,” she said, glancing up at the console room where the Doctor ran around happily. “He went into his own past and sought out all of us as we are now to be with him when he died.”

“But all that's still going to happen,” Amy frowned, sitting on the floor of the Tardis with her legs cross and her hands in her lap like a little kid trying to understand. “He's still going to die.”

“We’re all going to do that, Amy,” River shrugged. 

“We're not all going to arrange our own wake and invite ourselves,” Rory reminded them and Ariel scoffed.

“He’s got a point there,” Ariel nodded.

“So, the Doctor, in the future, knowing he's going to die, recruits his younger self and all of us to, to what, exactly?” Rory wondered with an aimless shake of his head. “Avenge him?”

“Nope,” River shook her head. “Avenging’s not his style.”

“She’s right. He’s been too okay with dying in the past to think he needed to be avenged,” Ariel reminded them.

“Save him,” Amy offered, hope flooding her eyes as she sat up straighter at the very idea.

“Yeah, that’s not really his style either,” Rory frowned.

“Besides, if he wanted that he’d tell us or at least give us some clue as to who killed him,” Ariel reasoned.

“But we do have a clue,” Amy frowned. “Whoever it was, was in a spacesuit like an astronaut.”

“And we’re about to go to 1969,” Ariel reminded her. “We can’t just stop everyone in spacesuits and try to figure out if they’re going to kill him. We’d go mad.”

Amy let out a frustrated huff. “We have to tell him,” she insisted, shaking her head as she saw no other way out of this.

“We can’t,” Ariel said, grabbing her hand before she could stand up and head to the console room. 

“We've told him all we can,” River sighed. “We can't even tell him we've seen his future self. He's interacted with his own past. It could rip a hole in the universe.”

“Yes, but he’s done it before,” Amy reasoned with a sigh. 

“Yeah, to save my life when I was seconds away from dying,” Ariel frowned.

“And in fairness, the universe did blow up,” Rory reminded her. 

“But he’d want to know,” Amy sighed, wondering why the group weren’t all realizing this fact for themselves.

“I don’t think we would,” Ariel mumbled, shaking her head as she pictured the Doctor’s very reaction.

“Would anyone?” River wondered, shrugging as she posed the question to Amy herself.

Before Amy could answer, a head popped down to peer at them all on the lower deck and Ariel laughed as she spotted the Doctor grinning at them.

“I'm being extremely clever up here, and there's no one to stand around looking impressed!” The Doctor cried. “What's the point in having you all?” He moaned before jumping up to the upper console level.

“Couldn’t you just slap him sometimes?” River huffed.

“Oh, I dunno,” Ariel shrugged as she got up and Rufus jumped up to follow her. “I think it’s adorable,” she smiled.

“Yeah, you’re the reason he’s like this,” River chuckled.

“Ariel, River, we can't just let him die,” Amy insisted. “We have to stop it. How can you both be okay with this?” She wondered.

“The Doctor's death doesn't frighten me,” River sighed. “Nor does Ariel’s or my own,” she said, nodding to the girl beside her. “There's a far worse day coming for me and she’s already faced it,” she sighed.

Ariel’s eyes widened as she realized what River was talking about. It was the day neither of them knew her. The day they met and River beamed at them with such love in her eyes but neither or them had know who she was. She felt a stab of guilt for the woman by her side, knowing that while they were still falling in love on her own timeline she had gone through a day that had been torture for River and had never known.

Ariel took River’s hand and gave it a tight squeeze as though to reassure her that everything would be okay even as she remembered how disgruntled the Doctor had been at her presence then and how that was all still yet to come for River.

They headed up the stairs where the Doctor was running about wildly and happily as he fiddled with the different levers and controls.

“Time isn't a straight line,” the Doctor announced, beaming as they all entered the console room. “It's all bumpy wumpy. There's loads of boring stuff like Sundays and Tuesdays and Thursday afternoons,” he moaned, rolling his eyes at the very idea. “But now and then there are Saturdays. Big temporal tipping points when anything's possible. The Tardis can't resist them, like a moth to a flame. She loves a party, so I give her 1969 and NASA, because that's space in the sixties, and Canton Everett Delaware the third, and this is where she's pointing,” he said and spun the scanner so they all could see.

“Washington D.C., April the eighth, 1969,” Amy nodded, but frowned as she felt that they were still in flight. “So why haven't we landed?” She wondered.

“Because that's not where we're going,” the Doctor sighed and Ariel winced as she saw the annoyance in his eyes. 

He was not happy no matter how he feigned it. 

“Oh,” Rory frowned. “Where are we going?”

“Home. Well, you two are. Off you pop and make babies,” the Doctor said, granting Amy and Rory a thin smile. “And you, Doctor Song, back to prison,” he hummed. “And us?” The Doctor prompted, raising a brow at Ariel. “We’re late for a biplane lesson in 1911.”

“You signed us up for a biplane lesson?” Ariel frowned.

“Or it could be knitting,” the Doctor shrugged. “Knitting or biplanes. One or the other,” he chuckled softly but that smile quickly fell when he saw them all eyeing him warily. “What? A mysterious summons,” he sighed. “You think I'm just going to go?” He scoffed. “Who sent those messages? I know you know. I can see it in your faces. Don't play games with me. Don't ever, ever think you're capable of that.”

Ariel sucked in a sharp breath. She hated when the Doctor got upset and usually she was not on the receiving end of that. It was one thing to see him get upset at enemies they faced, but when he got mad at companions or even her, she always got worried.

Especially in moments like these where she was physically incapable of fixing it. 

“You're going to have to trust us this time,” River insisted, her voice wavering only slightly. She had grown much more accustomed to receiving the Doctor’s anger. It was a rare day when he directed it at Ariel but she on the other hand had faced it far more often.

“Trust you?” The Doctor scoffed and rolled his eyes. “Sure. But, first of all, Doctor Song, just one thing. Who are you?” He implored and River paled. “You're someone from my future. Getting that. But who? Okay. Why are you in prison? Who did you kill, hmm? Now, I love a bad girl, me, but trust you? Seriously,” he sighed and rolled his eyes once again as though the very idea were ridiculous.

“Trust me,” Ariel said, gulping harshly before stepping forward.

The Doctor’s face fell and he looked at her through the eyes of a child. While he held angry and sharpness in his gaze for the other three, he could never find that same fury when looking at Ariel. He could search but there was nothing there. Ever. No matter what she did. Sure, he could speak to her angrily but he could never actually feel it. Especially, not when he saw the worry and concern she directed at him when he was angry.

She was never afraid of him. She never had been no matter what he did. Whenever he was upset she would just grow concerned. She would look at him the same way angry as she did when he was sad. That alone was enough to wipe his fury away.

“Okay,” the Doctor breathed, nodding and knowing no matter what he would put his trust in her. 

“We have to go, Doctor,” Ariel insisted, stepping forward and gently placing her hand on his as it rested on the console, slowly ebbing his anger away. “And I’m sorry, but we can’t tell you why. At least not yet.”

“Are you being threatened?” The Doctor frowned, searching her eyes desperately for some sign of coercion. “Is someone making you say that?” He asked, glancing back pointedly at River.

“No,” Ariel assured him with a shake of her head.

“Are you lying?” The Doctor asked, desperate to know why she of all people would keep this from him. 

“I’m not lying, Doctor,” Ariel promised. “Believe me, you know I wouldn’t say this if it wasn’t absolutely necessary.”

“Swear to me,” the Doctor insisted. “ Swear to me on something that matters.”

Ariel though for a moment, her thoughts falling back through her history with the Doctor. When she recalled a memory suitable, a small smile fell upon her lips.

“The Taj Mahal,” she muttered and the Doctor’s eyes grew wide.

She was swearing to him on their very first date. 

Around them, River, Rory and Amy all frowned. Neither of them had told a soul of their first date. Not even Donna though the ginger had been traveling with them at the time. 

They wanted it to remain between the two of them. One trip they could have that was sacred and forever kept between the two of them.

The Doctor sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, a small smile gracing his lips as he watched his wife carefully. “My life in your hands, Ariel Parsons.”

Ariel grinned and squeezed his hand tightly. “Isn’t it always?” She sighed, shrugging to the man she loved. 

The Doctor beamed at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead before turning back to the Tardis and bringing up the coordinates once more.

Ariel walked away but before she could return to Rufus and bring him back to the garden room, River grabbed her wrist. 

“Thank you,” River breathed. Her voice was shaking as she spoke and cracked, conveying all the fear she had truly held when the Doctor greeted her with all his anger. She had kept in concealed, but with Ariel she knew it was safe to reveal how terrified she had been. 

Ariel smiled softly and glanced back at the Doctor, returned to his normal bouncy state that she often had to help bring him back to when he was depressed.

“It’s no problem,” Ariel assured River with a shake of her head. “He rarely gets angry with me so it’s usually better that I help in moments like these.”

River simply nodded and Ariel headed out to bring Rufus back to the garden room. The small dog barked happily and ran around her in circles as she giggled.

“No one’s played with you for a while have they?” Ariel sighed, leaning down for a moment and petting the dog’s coat. “Tell you what,” she smiled. “After this trip, I promise I’ll play with you. Or at the very least I’ll get the Doctor to,” she chuckled and the dog barked happily at the very idea.

She stood back up and walked Rufus to the garden room where she opened the door for him and he bolted inside. 

She got him his food and some water before leaving to go back to the console room once more.

“So!” The Doctor exclaimed, pulling the scanner towards him as Ariel walked over and stood right by him. “Canton Everett Delaware the third. Who's he?” He hummed. 

The Doctor pressed a few buttons on the console and an exterior image appeared of a man with short black hair in a suit with two men standing on either side of him.

“Who wants to know?” The man scoffed, slurring his words as he swirled his whiskey around his cup.

“Your boss,” the man to his right snapped as he pulled out a badge that read ‘FBI’ in large blue letters.

“I don’t have a boss anymore,” the man scoffed.

“Maybe you want to tell that to the President of the United States,” the agent to his right offered.

“Ex-FBI,” River announced. “Got kicked out.”

“Why?” The Doctor wondered.

He and Ariel searched through Canton’s records to find some reason for being kicked out around 1969. 

“Oh, there it is!” Ariel exclaimed, pointing to a bit of Gallifreyan at the corner of the screen.

She couldn’t read much, but she knew numbers and a few words such as the one before her in Canton’s records. Marriage.

“He wanted to get married?” Ariel frowned. “That’s it?”

“America,” the Doctor sighed as though that was explanation enough.

It was.

“Six weeks after he left the Bureau, the President contacted him for a private meeting,” River translated as she read through the Gallifreyan records on screen.

“Yeah, 1969,” the Doctor mumbled. “Who's President?” He wondered.

“Kennedy, right?” Ariel guessed. “Wait, no,” she shook her head. “That was before this president, not after,” she sighed and glanced up at the Doctor. “Traveling with you I’m getting my timelines all mixed up,” she moaned.

The Doctor just chuckled and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close to his chest. “It’s more fun this way, though,” he muttered.

“The President was Nixon, I believe,” Rory offered. “He started this year.”

“Oh, great,” Ariel groaned, rolling her eyes at the thought of meeting Nixon. 

“Richard Milhous Nixon,” River proclaimed, having already searched through the Tardis records for him. “Vietnam, Watergate. There's some good stuff, too,” she mumbled.

Ariel and the Doctor peered at the records and rolled their eyes. “Not enough,” they said in unison.

“Hippies!” River teased.

Ariel giggled and glanced up at the Doctor while he turned bright red. “Archaeologist,” he tossed back and River laughed.

“If you three are done flirting, we need to see what’s going on in the Oval Office,” Amy reminded them.

“Oh, right,” the Doctor sighed, appearing as though he’d rather do anything but carry on with the adventure. 

He typed in a few things a toyed with the controls for a moment before pulling the scene up on the scanner.

“Every day, wherever I am, I get a phone call,” Nixon announced on the scanner. 

“People can't just call you, Mister President,” Canton scoffed, seated in a chair directly in front of the president’s desk.

“Right, now I’m interested,” Ariel mumbled. The Doctor chuckled and nodded as he walked up behind her and dropped his chin to the top of her head. 

“It's a direct call every time,” Nixon said. “Every day for the last two weeks, usually late at night.”

“We should probably get out there,” Ariel decided.

“Yeah, it’s beginning to look like that,” the Doctor sighed. “Where’s my pen and pad of paper? I’ll need to be taking notes for this?”

“I think it’s on the lower deck,” Amy said and headed downstairs to get it.

“Man or woman?” Canton asked.

“Neither,” Nixon dismissed. 

Amy returned with the Doctor’s paper and passed it to him and he put it in his suit before turning to the group. 

“Okay, since I don't know what I'm getting into this time, for once I'm being discreet,” the Doctor announced. “I'm putting the engines on silent.”

He walked around the console and pulled a lever resulting in a loud, almost pained wail from the Tardis. River flicked the lever back and the issue was resolved as she pressed a few buttons to  _ properly _ put the engine on silent. 

“Did you do something?” The Doctor frowned, spinning to face River as he noticed a change.

“No, just watching,” River shrugged and Ariel snorted, fighting to conceal her laughter.

The Doctor glanced between the pair of the curiously but ultimately decided to dismiss the matter as he moved back around the console. River and Ariel shared a snicker at his expense. 

It wasn’t his fault, the Doctor was flying the Tardis without ever having passed a driver’s test. He was basically doing guesswork everyday.

“Putting the outer shield on invisible,” the Doctor announced. “I haven't done this in a while.  _ Big  _ drain on the power,” he hummed.

“You can turn the Tardis invisible?” Rory gasped, watching the Doctor with wide eyes. 

“Ha!” The Doctor exclaimed, grinning at him victoriously as he pulled another lever. He highly enjoyed being able to surprise and astound his companions, puting the very expression that Rory wore on their faces. 

He walked away and River let out a small huff as she unmended what he mended. “Very nearly,” she mumbled before proceeding to  _ actually _ turn the Tardis invisible.

The Doctor whirled around and narrowed his eyes at River. “Er, did you touch something?” He prompted.

“Just admiring your skills, sweetie,” River sighed, shrugging toward the Doctor and Ariel snickered.

“Good,” the Doctor muttered, faltering only slightly at Ariel’s laughter. “You might learn something,” he mumbled and Ariel grinned in amusement at River.  She had already managed to learn far more than the Doctor knew, it seemed. “Okay. Now I can't check the scanner. It doesn't work when we're cloaked. Just give us a mo,” he said, marching out to the front doors.

When the rest of the group began to follow him outside, he spun around and held up a single hand. “Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!” He cried. “You lot, wait a moment. We're in the middle of the most powerful city in the most powerful country on Earth. Let's take it slow,” he hummed, then of course stepped out of the Tardis right into the middle of the Oval Office.

“Alright, let’s get that scanner working shall we?” River sighed as the doors closed behind the Doctor.

“But he said it wouldn’t work,” Rory reminded her with a frown.

“I know,” River smiled. “Bless.”

They headed back up to the scanner and River began fiddling with the controls. 

“Love, you can begin learning how to work the Tardis when the Doctor doesn’t understand,” River told her. “Flick on the harmonic generator with this lever,” she said, pointing to a lever on her right side. “And switch on the cooling systems with these buttons,” she instructed, gesturing to a few light blue buttons on her left. 

Ariel did as instructed and River nodded as she watched the young girl work. 

“Okay, now watch as the system cools down enough to process the image on the scanner properly,” River told her. “You can watch watch right here on the gauge,” she said, tapping the small gauge on the console where the dial was slowly lowering down.

“How do you know when it’s cool enough to process the image on the scanner?” Ariel wondered. 

“Below thirty is when it can process systems and controls within the console,” River explained with a nod. “Below twenty is when it’s safe to emergency land and below ten is normal landings,” she told her.

“Ah,” Ariel smiled and nodded.

While she enjoyed getting lessons on how to fly the Tardis from the Doctor, lessons from River were far more enlightening. River knew how to explain information about the Tardis in detail while the Doctor came up with clever nicknames for most of it and most of the time didn’t know what to say. 

River smiled as she turned a few dials and tuned the image on the scanner to reflect the exterior cameras. “There we are,” River hummed. “Good job, my love,” she smiled and Ariel grinned as they all walked up to watch the scanner.

“I'm scared, Mister President,” a girl’s voice on a recording Nixon was showing Canton said. “I'm scared of the spaceman.”

“A little girl?” Canton prompted with a small frown.

“Boy,” Nixon corrected with a shake of his head.

“How can you be sure?” Canton wondered.

“What spaceman? Where are you phoning from?” Nixon asked the child on the recording. “Where are you right now? Who are you?”

There was a pause in the phone call before the child responded and they all watched the Doctor pull out his small pad of paper to write the information down.

“Jefferson Adams Hamilton,” the child responded, slow and measured as though they were reading.

“Jefferson, listen to me,” Nixon implored.

The child rang off before he could even get a word in.

“Surely this is something the Bureau could handle, sir,” Canton insisted, knowing the FBI could deal with a simple case of a mysterious child phoning the president.

“These calls happen wherever I am,” Nixon sighed. “How do I know the Bureau isn't involved?” He wondered and Ariel and River shared a knowing look. That was certainly a good question. “I can't trust anyone,” he sighed.

Nixon turned and his face fell when he spotted the Doctor just outside the cloaked Tardis still scribbling down the information on his pad.

“Oh, Doctor,” Ariel sighed, smiling at the man who was so clumsy in his actions that it was adorable.

Canton stood up and his eyes widened as he turned to see the Doctor as well. 

The Doctor only looked up when he heard Canton’s chair being pushed out and he paled at the sight of the pair of them glaring at him.

“Oh. Hello. Bad moment,” the Doctor winced, slowly tiptoeing away and back towards the Tardis.

“Has he really forgotten the Tardis is here?” Ariel mumbled as she watched him grow closer and closer to the camera.

“He has a tendency to do these sorts of things,” River sighed, knowing full well he was going to run right into the Tardis when it was cloaked.

“Oh look, this is the Oval Office,” the Doctor muttered. “I was looking for the er,  _ oblong room _ . I'll just be off, then, shall I?” He prompted.

He turned around and walked right into the Tardis, falling flat onto the ground after he did so.

Ariel let out a sharp laugh which she quickly covered with her hands as River chuckled softly and shook her head. 

“Every time,” River hummed.

The Secret Service members rushed into the Oval Office and pinned the Doctor to the ground while the group inside the Tardis just watched on in amusement.

“Ah, no!” The Doctor cried. “Stop that!” He yelled as they began cuffing him.

“Lockdown! Lockdown!” One of the Secret Service members shouted.

“Stop that! Argh! Oh!” The Doctor hollered.

“We’ve been here five minutes,” Ariel sighed.

“Ariel, River, have you got my scanner working yet?!” The Doctor cried. 

“Oh, I hate him,” River sighed, despite smiling at Ariel who giggled and nodded at her. 

“No, you don’t!” The Doctor called, despite being unable to hear River and Ariel barked out a laugh at the sight.

He knew both of them too well.

One of the Secret Service members ran up to Nixon and tried to escort him out of the room. “Get the President out of here,” he called to the other members. “Sir, you have to come with us, now,” he insisted.

“River, make her blue again!” The Doctor hollered. 

“What do I do?” Ariel asked, turning to River with large eyes, knowing no matter how they teased they had to act fast before the Secret Service imprisoned the Doctor permanently.

“Gyroscopic stabiliser and harmonic generators,” River instructed. “There and there,” she said, pointing to each of them on the other side of the console.

Ariel nodded and did as she instructed while River flicked a few switches on her side and the Tardis appeared shining blue in the center of the Oval Office.

The presence of the Tardis alone freed the Doctor as the Secret Service and the president stopped to gape at it, granting him the chance to run out of their grasp.

With that freedom, rather than heading inside the Tardis or leaving the Doctor made the decision to walk up to the president’s desk and take a seat.

“What the hell is that?” Nixon gasped, staring up at the Tardis. 

“Mister President, that child just told you everything you need to know, but you weren't listening,” the Doctor informed him casually as though the man hadn’t just tried to arrest him moments prior. “Never mind, though, because the answer's yes. I'll take the case,” he smiled, yet faltered when the Secret Service still had their guns all aimed at him. “Fellows, the guns, really? I just walked into the highest security office in the United States and parked a big blue box on the rug. Do you think you can just shoot me?” He scoffed.

Ariel, River, Rory and Amy all burst out of the Tardis then when large eyes to stop him just after he said something foolish.

“They’re Americans!” Ariel cried. As they all ran out, half the Secret Service members turned their guns on the group.

They all knew full well Americans would shoot the Doctor if he just reached into his suit with a funny expression. 

The Doctor’s arrogant smile fell as he realized that very fact. 

“Don’t shoot,” the Doctor murmured. “Definitely no shooting.”

Ariel and the others all raised their hands in surrender to the Secret Service members pointing their guns at them. The aura of surprise had fallen away and now they were just wary of the five individuals that had somehow snuck into the Oval Office without them knowing.

“Nobody shoot us either,” Rory requested. “Very much not in need of getting shot. Look, we've got our hands up,” he said, nodding to their raised hands as though that would offer a viable reason for the Americans not to shoot them.

“Who the hell are you?” Nixon demanded, glaring at the group. He started marching forward toward the group and Canton held out an arm to stop him.

“Sir, you need to stay back,” Canton advised.

“But who are they and what is that box?” Nixon wondered, glancing between Canton and the box.

“It's a police box,” the Doctor frowned. “Can't you read? I'm your new undercover agent on loan from Scotland Yard. Code name the Doctor,” he smiled, kicking his feet up on the desk. “These are my top operatives, the Legs,” he said, gesturing to Amy, who rolled her eyes at him. “The Nose,” he said, waving to Rory who groaned softly. “Mrs Robinson,” he introduced as he nodded to River.

“Oh, I hate you,” River moaned, rolling her eyes at the Doctor.

“No, you don’t,” he smiled. “And last but certainly not least, Mary Sue,” he said, gesturing to Ariel.

“Oh my God,” Ariel scoffed, chuckling softly as she shook her head. 

“Who are you?” Nixon demanded, frowning at the Doctor.

“Nah, boring question,” the Doctor sighed. “Who's phoning you? That's interesting. Because Canton Three is right,” he said. “That was definitely a girl's voice, which means there's only one place in America she can be phoning from.”

“Where?” Canton wondered.

“Can we put our hands down now?” Ariel whispered to Rory who simply shrugged, as confused as she was.

“Do not engage with the intruder, Mister Delaware,” one of the Secret Service agents snapped.

“You heard everything I heard. It's simple enough,” the Doctor shrugged. “Give me five minutes, I'll explain. On the other hand, lay a finger on me or my friends, and you'll never, ever know,” he promised.

Canton frowned and glanced back at the Tardis. “How did you get it in here?” He wondered. “I mean, you didn't carry it in.”

“Clever, eh?” The Doctor smirked.

“Love it,” Canton smiled.

“Do not compliment the intruder,” one of the Secret Service agents snapped at Canton and Ariel just laughed. 

Maybe, marriage wasn’t the only reason he got kicked out of the FBI.

“Five minutes?” Canton clarified with a raised brow.

“Five,” the Doctor promised with a nod.

“Mister President, that man is a clear and present danger to-,” the Secret Service agent began.

“Mister President, that man walked in here with a big blue box and four of his friends, and that's the man he walked past,” Canton said, pointing towards the Secret Service agent. “One of them's worth listening to,” he shrugged. “I say we give him five minutes. See if he delivers.”

“Thanks, Canton,” the Doctor smiled.

“If he doesn’t, I’ll shoot him myself,” Canton said, turning back to the Doctor with a similar smile.

The Doctor’s own grin fell. “Not so thanks,” he murmured.

“Sir, I cannot recommend,” the same Secret Service agent started and Ariel rolled her eyes. Was this guy ever quiet?

“Shut up, Peterson!” Nixon snapped and Ariel grinned. Finally someone shouted out what she had wanted to say ever since that guy began training his gun on her. “Alright, five minutes,” he sighed.

The Secret Service all lowered their guns and the group let out a resounding sigh as they lowered their arms. 

The Doctor clicked his fingers happily and jumped up out of his seat. 

“I'm going to need a SWAT team, ready to mobilise. Street level maps covering all of Florida. A pot of coffee, twelve Jammie Dodgers and a fez,” he listed with a smile.

Canton stared at him for a moment as though genuinely trying to determine if he truly needed all of that.

“Oh, he’s serious,” Ariel sighed, walking over to the Doctor and sitting down in the seat with him. The Doctor smiled and wrapped his arm around her tightly, placing a kiss to her temple.

Canton rolled his eyes and turned to the Secret Service. “Get him his maps,” he muttered.


	4. Tunnels

Ariel sat beside the Doctor’s side as they looked through the maps of Florida. 

Across the room, Amy and Rory were looking through another set and River was picking up a new map from the president’s desk to look at. 

The Doctor had filled them all in on what they were looking for but refused to filled the Secret Service or even the president in after they had pointed guns at his friends.

Canton had luckily come through with the Jammie Dodgers and coffee as well, but the Doctor still lacked a SWAT team and more importantly a fez to his own displeasure and Ariel’s delight.

Ariel grabbed another Jammie Dodger and moved back to the Doctor’s side, peering over the map as she ate. 

“Are you sure it’s in Florida?” Ariel frowned. 

“Positive,” the Doctor nodded. “But even if I’m wrong, NASA’s in Florida, so she could be around there,” he proposed.

“Fair point,” Ariel mumbled. She glanced down at the map and let out a soft sigh as she read through the street names. 

“What’s wrong?” The Doctor asked, glancing over at her with a small frown.

“Nothing,” Ariel shook her head, keeping her focus on the map as she read.

“Ariel,” the Doctor said and Ariel looked up to see the Doctor raising a brow at her. He knew her all too well for her to be able to lie to him. “What is it?” He asked, his tone gentle and genuinely worried when he spoke.

Ariel took a deep breath and turned so her whole body could be facing him when she spoke. 

“You said you had your reasons for leaving me behind at the Ponds, but I’ve spent two months wondering what it could be and I can’t work it out,” Ariel said. “Did you just not want to have me with you when you traveled?”

“That’s not it at all!” The Doctor exclaimed. “How could you possibly think that?”

“Well, I dunno,” Ariel sighed, glancing back at the map momentarily as though that may provide her answer. “I just thought, we were having so much fun traveling together and then you talked to Dorium-.”

“Do you want to know what he told me?” The Doctor implored. 

“Is it the reason you dropped me off with Amy?” Ariel asked. “Because if it isn’t I’m totally lost as to why you would do it,” she shrugged. 

“He said, ‘silence will fall when the question is asked’,” he told her.

“What does that have to do with anything?” Ariel frowned.

“It’s the second half to the phrase River heard when she was trapped in the Tardis. “That means that there’s an organization out there or a race or  _ something  _ called the Silence that believe it will fall when a question is asked.”

“That’s what you said after Amy and Rory’s wedding,” Ariel nodded. “The Silence is still out there. But why did that mean you had to leave me behind with them?”

“Because I was going to spend the next two months searching for a simple question and I didn’t want you to get bored just stopping off places and interrogating different people,” the Doctor chuckled softly. “Besides, it had been a while since you saw Amy and Rory and I knew you missed them.”

Ariel’s eyes widened. All that time she had been so upset with him and herself. She thought something was wrong with her and the Doctor just wanted to keep her from getting bored. He wanted to make her happy by bringing her to spend time with her friends while he went off and searched the universe for a single question. She felt like an idiot.

“God, I’m stupid,” Ariel moaned, rubbing her forehead.

“Oh, now, don’t say that,” the Doctor smiled sweetly. 

She didn’t deserve him. He was so sweet to her when she had been so angry with him and he didn’t even seem to mind that she had been away from him for two months and the second she saw him again she smacked him. 

“No, but I am,” Ariel sighed. “Here I was thinking you were cross with me or you just didn’t want me to be apart of whatever you were doing. Or even worse, I worried that you didn’t need me, and yet here you are just bringing me back to Earth so I could spend time with my friends.”

“I knew how much you missed them on their honeymoon and I didn’t want you to go almost a year without seeing them,” the Doctor shrugged. 

“I’m sorry,” Ariel muttered, hanging her head at the thought of the way she had treated him. “I should have realized that it wasn’t as bad as I was making it out to be.”

“Hey,” the Doctor whispered. He turned her face back to him and cupped her cheek delicately. “I would never just up and abandon you,” he assured her. “And I could certainly never hate you,” he said, chuckling softly at the idea. “No matter what you did.”

“Don’t say that,” Ariel shook her head. “Don’t say you could never hate me because I never know what could happen. Maybe, one day I could end up in a situation like what happened with the Master and be forced to kill again, and I don’t want to have to think back on how you said you’d never hate me. I don’t want to ever have to remember that.”

“If you ever wound up in a situation like the Master again, I’d know you’re not to blame for what you did,” the Doctor reminded her.

“Well, what if one day I betrayed you or hurt you in some way?” Ariel wondered, knowing even as the words left her mouth that there was no way that would ever happen, but finding herself curious of the answer nonetheless.

“Do you think I care for you so little that betraying me would make a difference?” The Doctor scoffed.

Ariel’s eyes inflated and the Doctor smiled as he brushed some hair out of her stormy grey eyes. 

“My Ariel,” he hummed, cupping her cheek delicately as though she were a priceless relic he couldn’t bear to damage. “I will always love you,” he promised.

Ariel grinned and kissed him quickly but sweetly. She pulled away and rested her forehead on his, her eyes fluttering shut as she did so. “My Doctor,” Ariel sighed. “I love you so much it hurts.”

The Doctor smiled and squeezed her hand tightly, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before turning back to the task at hand. 

As he did so, Canton walked over and knelt before them with a small frown, glancing down at the maps between them.

“Why Florida?” Canton wondered.

“There's where NASA is,” the Doctor informed him with a nod. “She mentioned a spaceman. NASA's where the spacemen live. Also, there's another lead I'm following,” he shrugged.

“What is it?” Canton asked. 

“We don’t know for sure yet,” Ariel replied. “It could be just a guess as far as we know.”

“You’re just guessing at this stuff?” Canton frowned.

“Oh, Canton Three, that’s how everything gets done,” the Doctor chuckled. “All anything is is a load of guesswork until you stumble upon something that pans out. It worked out with old Ben Franklin well enough didn’t it?”

“Wasn’t the day you got electrocuted?” Ariel frowned.

“Oh, yeah, that was a day and a half,” the Doctor smirked at the very memory. “First I got rope burns, then I got soaked, and  _ then  _ I got electrocuted. ‘All in the name of innovation’, he said. Well, I’ve got scars that could say otherwise,” he muttered.

“You’ve still got scars post regeneration?” Ariel implored.

“Oh, yeah,” the Doctor nodded. “If it goes deep enough it can remain. Plus, if I’m focusing on features I’d like there’s not always time to heal any remaining scars from the last body. But, you know, you saw them,” he informed her.

“I did?” Ariel prompted. As far as she could recall she hadn’t seen any scars on the Doctor’s body.

“Yeah, they were the scars that ran along my waist down to my-,” the Doctor began, gesturing to the very location the scars lead to.

“Stop!” Canton snapped, cutting him off before he could go somewhere Canton definitely didn’t need to know about. “I understood about half of it, but I know I don’t need to listen to the particular detail I  _ can  _ understand,” he hummed, standing up and walking away before the Doctor could continue. 

Ariel laughed as she watched him walk away before turning back to the Doctor with a curious frown. “How did you get scars along your waist from the electrocution?” She wondered.

“Oh, I got tangled in the rope from the kite,” the Doctor moaned. “It’s not as though it was my fault. It was pouring down rain. I could barely see a thing!” He exclaimed. 

Ariel chuckled and shook her head. “Oh, Doctor,” she sighed. “You never cease to amaze me,” she smiled. 

She always found it endlessly hilarious that while the previous Doctor she had begun dating knew where to cut off conversation, this Doctor continued to ramble endlessly about the things they had done together.

It had embarrassed her for a while, but now that they were married she got over any embarrassments she may harbor about just what he told others. It all just seemed to wash away and she found she was the one more amused while others began to carry the embarrassment she had lost. 

Ariel watched Amy leave to go to the toilets, claiming she was feeling a bit ill and Canton turned back to the pair with a small frown.

“Your five minutes are up,” he reminded them.

“Yeah, and where’s my fez?” The Doctor wondered, hardly carrying about the passage of time as he carried on scouring the map.

“Oh, don’t give him the fez,” Ariel sighed. “You put him in a fez, he will never want to take the fez off. He once wore a fez when he went to bed. It was a nightmare.”

“Oi!” The Doctor snapped. “Don’t diss the fez.”

“If you get another fez, I’m going to ask our girlfriend to kill it again,” Ariel mumbled absentmindedly as she looked through another map nearby.

The Doctor glanced back at River with wide eyes and River just smiled and waved, giggling almost wickedly at the idea. 

“No!” The Doctor moaned and Ariel snorted.

“Then don’t bring back the fez,” Ariel retorted.

“Fine,” the Doctor huffed, sighing softly as he leant forward and continued to look through the map with her.  

All of a sudden, the telephone on the president’s desk rang and they all seemed to snap into action at the very sound.

“The kid?” Canton implored with a raised brow.

“Should I answer it?” Nixon wondered, glancing between the Doctor and Canton equally.

Ariel nodded to him just as the Doctor let out a cry of victory. “Here!” He exclaimed, pointing to a small section on the map. “The only place in the United States that call could be coming from,” he said as Canton and Ariel ran to his side to peer at the street. “See?” He smirked. “Obvious, when you think about it,” he hummed.

“Oh, you’re brilliant, you are,” Ariel grinned and kissed him quickly.

“You, sir, are a genius,” Canton sighed. 

“It’s a hobby,” the Doctor shrugged, smirking at Canton.

“Mister President, answer the phone,” Canton instructed, turning back to Nixon who was still staring at the phone cautiously.

The president took a deep breath and nodded before picking up the phone. “Hello. This is President Nixon,” he said.

“It’s here!” The girl cried and Ariel and the Doctor both paled. “The spaceman's here! It's going to get me! It's going to eat me!” She yelled.

The Doctor took a deep breath and nodded. He grabbed Ariel’s hand and headed back to the Tardis, nodding to the others to do the same. 

“There's no time for a SWAT team,” he sighed. “Let's go,” he said, nodding Amy and Rory into the box. “Mister President, tell her help's on the way,” he instructed before turning his attention back to Canton. “Canton, on no account follow me into this box and close the door behind you,” he said, knowing with a smirk that Canton would do just that.

Ariel and the doctor headed inside the Tardis and sure enough, Canton was quick to follow.

“What the hell are you doing?!” Canton cried, chasing after them back into the Tardis.

He closed the door behind him as the Doctor requested and the Doctor started up the time rotors. 

“So you worked it out?” Ariel assumed. “You found the streets?”

“Yep,” the Doctor nodded.

“Which streets?” Rory wondered.

“Jefferson isn't a girl's name,” the Doctor responded. “It's not her name either. Jefferson, Adams, Hamilton. River,” he prompted, pointing a finger to the woman on his right.

“Surnames of three of America's founding fathers,” River replied immediately. 

“Lovely fellows,” the Doctor sighed. “Two of them fancied me,” he smirked.

“Hamilton was my favorite,” Ariel chuckled. “He was certainly one of the nicest we visited,” she said and the Doctor nodded firmly in agreement.

As they chatted happily, Rory walked over to Canton who stood gaping up at the large interior of the Tardis.

“Are you okay?” Rory asked. “Coping?” He prompted and all Canton could do was nod numbly.

“Hold on, how did you work out where the child was?” Amy wondered.

“You see, the President asked the child two questions,” the Doctor said. “Where are you and who are you? She was answering where.”

“Jefferson Adams Hamilton,” Ariel nodded.

“Now, where would you find three big, historical names in a row like that?” The Doctor smirked.

“Where?” Amy asked.

“Here,” the Doctor smiled as he landed the Tardis. “Come on,” he said, nodding to the group to follow him outside.

They passed Rory and Canton on the way and Canton was still fixated on the size of the Tardis.

“It’s, er,” he breathed, holding up a shaky finger as he stared.

“Are you taking care of this?” The Doctor asked Rory, though he had already assumed that he was as he walked out of the Tardis.

“Why is it always my turn?” Rory demanded with a frown.

“Sorry,” Ariel giggled, taking the Doctor’s hand and running out of the Tardis.

“Because you’re newest,” Amy shrugged as she followed the couple outside.

They all walked out into a strange warehouse office leaving Rory to deal with Canton inside. 

Ariel frowned at the location. “What would a child be doing here?” She wondered.

“Where even is here?” Amy asked. 

“About five miles from Cape Kennedy Space Centre,” the Doctor answered. “It's 1969, the year of the moon. Interesting, don't you think?” He smiled back at the three women.

“But this place looks like it’s been abandoned for ages,” Ariel sighed, looking through the items on the desk to find them all covered in thick layers of dust. “Why would some spaceman be chasing a little girl here?” She wondered.

“I don't know,” the Doctor shrugged. “Lost me a bit,” he confessed. 

“But why didn’t she just say the name of the warehouse or something?” Ariel wondered with a shrug. “How would she know the street names?”

“The President asked the girl where she was, and she did what any lost little girl would do,” the Doctor said as he opened the blinds on the window to his left. “She looked out of the window,” he muttered.

Ariel walked up to his side and peered out of the window with him. “Ah, Hamilton Avenue, Jefferson Street and Adams Street,” she listed.

“Streets,” Amy sighed, rolling her eyes, unable to believe she had not thought of it earlier. “Of course, street names,” she murmured.

“The only place in Florida, probably all of America, with those three street names on the same junction,” the Doctor nodded. He turned to River and Ariel and smirked when he saw them sharing a look that he knew all too well. “Ariel, Doctor Song, you've both got that face on again.”

The two women then shared a frown, unsure of what reaction he had seen.

“What face?” River asked.

“The ‘he's hot when he's clever face’,” the Doctor smirked.

Ariel and River both laughed at the very idea that they could each have the same expression for when they believed the Doctor was being clever. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ariel sighed. “This is my normal face.”

“Yes, it is,” the Doctor grinned.

“Oh, shut up!” Ariel laughed.

“Not a chance,” the Doctor smiled.

Ariel continued to laugh as she looped her arm through his and placed her head on his shoulder. “I hate you,” she murmured. 

“No, you don’t,” the Doctor grinned. He pulled his arm out of her grasp and used it to wrap around her body, pulling her close as he chuckled softly against her.

Just before they could walk out and begin to explore the warehouse, Rory finally managed to get Canton out of the Tardis. 

“Oh, he’s back,” Ariel mumbled, spotting the Tardis door open out of the corner of her eye. 

“Ah,” the Doctor sighed and smiled at the sight of Canton and Rory.

“We’ve moved,” Canton gasped. “How, how can we have moved?” He wondered.

“Oh, you really are slow with this thing,” Ariel grumbled, flashing a quick smile at River as the woman passed her and the Doctor each a torch. 

“You haven’t even gotten to space travel yet?” The Doctor frowned.

“I was going to cover it with time travel,” Rory sighed, throwing his hands up in the air helplessly.

“Time travel,” Canton echoed with an uncertain nod.

“Well, now we need to get going,” Ariel moaned. It’s so much easier to just tell people it’s a spaceship and move on. That usually covered all the bases if people grew uncertain. “Next time, I’ll cover the explanation,” she assured Rory.

“Thank God,” Rory sighed, tossing a quick but grateful nod to River as the woman passed him a torch. 

“Brave heart, Canton,” the Doctor smiled. “Come on,” he said, nodding the man out of the office. 

The Doctor started to walk out but before they could head out of the office, Ariel placed a hand on his chest and stopped him in his tracks. “Doctor,” she mumbled.

“What?” The Doctor frowned. “What is it?”

“Look,” she breathed and pointed a shaky finger towards the phone on the desk. 

The line coming off the phone that should lead into the wall was cut. Purposefully. Wherever the child was she didn’t phone them from there.

“Keep your eyes open,” the Doctor murmured into her ear.

Ariel nodded and they headed out as River began using her portable computer to scan the area for lifeforms.

“It's a warehouse of some kind. Disused,” River announced, letting out a soft sigh as she was unable to find anything yet.

“I don’t like this,” Ariel sighed. “It feels like Halloween all over again.”

“You realise this is almost certainly a trap, of course?” The Doctor prompted, curious to see if River had spotted the cut phone line.

“I noticed the phone, yes,” River nodded absentmindedly as she continued to scan.

“What about it?” Amy frowned.

“It was cut off,” River answered. “So how did the child phone from here?” She wondered.

“Unless, whatever was chasing her cut it after she phoned, but that’s only worse,” Ariel mumbled.

“Okay, but why would anyone want to trap us?” Amy asked.

“Let's see if anyone tries to kill us and work backwards,” the Doctor shrugged.

“That’s how it usually starts anyway,” Ariel chuckled. “But hopefully we find this girl before anyone tries to murder us,” she sighed.

“That’s the hope,” the Doctor nodded.

“Now, why would a little girl be here?” River wondered, flashing her torch on all the broken down technology stashed in the warehouse.

“I don’t know,” the Doctor sighed. “Let’s find her and ask her.”

“Oh, hold on,” Ariel frowned, peering round a corner to some sort of table or bed with a globe above it and wiring that looked decidedly inhuman. “What’s that? It looks like something out of one of those  _ Alien _ movies,” she muttered.

“It's nonterrestrial,” River nodded. “You’re right. Definitely alien. Probably not even from this time zone,” she sighed as she glanced down at the readings on her computer.

“Which is odd, because look at this!” The Doctor xclaimed, running to a row of crates where a bunch of spacesuits had been stored. 

“Hold on, spacesuits and alien tech right beside each other?” Ariel prompted with a raised brow as she walked back up to the Doctor’s side.

“It’s not only Earth tech,” River mumbled. “It’s contemporary.”

“It's very contemporary,” the Doctor nodded. “Cutting edge. This is from the space program.”

“Stolen?” River assumed.

“What, by aliens?” Amy frowned.

“Apparently,” the Doctor nodded. 

“It’s either that or a whole lot of coincidence with this stuff laying around the alien tech,” Ariel said, nodding back to the technology they had spotted. She giggled as the Doctor pulled out a helmet and she pulled out some of the gloves in the crate and put them on. They were way too large for her hand.

“But why?” Amy wondered. “I mean, if you can make it all the way to Earth, why steal technology that can barely make it to the moon?” She sighed.

“Maybe because it's cooler?” The Doctor guessed, chuckling as he lifted up his visor to beam at Amy. “Look how cool this stuff is!” He exclaimed like a small child.

“Cool aliens?” Amy scoffed, frowning at the Doctor.

“Well, what would you call me?” The Doctor asked with a shrug. 

Amy paused as though considering how her words may backfire for a moment before responding. “An alien,” she sighed, nodding simply.

“Oi!” The Doctor snapped and Amy laughed, shaking her head as she walked off to join River. “Ariel!” The Doctor called. “I think I’m stuck!”

Ariel laughed and dropped the spacesuit glove she wore before walking over and pulling the helmet off his head roughly. He gasped for air and she chuckled as she dropped the helmet back into the crate. 

“For the record, I think you are a very cool alien, by the way,” Ariel smiled.

“Oh, you’re just saying that,” the Doctor sighed.

“No,” Ariel insisted with a frown. “Coolest alien I’ve met,” she promised.

The Doctor chuckled softly and wrapped his arms around her waist. He pressed a gentle but quick kiss to her lips and Ariel smiled into the kiss.

“I, er, I think he's okay now,” Rory announced, walking up with Canton by his side.

“Ah!” The Doctor exclaimed. He spun around to face Canton while draping an arm over Ariel’s shoulders. “Back with us, Canton?” He prompted with a raised brow.

Canton paused, using his torch to stare up at the ceiling as he allowed the information to sink in. “I like your wheels,” he said finally and the Doctor chuckled.

“That’s my boy,” the Doctor smiled. “So, come on. Little girl. Let's find her,” he sighed.

“Where are River and Amy?” Rory wondered as they began heading in the direction opposite of the alien tech they had uncovered.

“Oh, we found some alien technology back there and River went to scan it. I think Amy joined her,” Ariel shrugged.

“Ah,” Rory nodded.

“Hold on, alien technology?” Canton frowned. 

“Oh, this is gonna be a long night,” Ariel moaned.

~~~

After a bit of searching through the warehouse, River called out to the Doctor and Ariel.

“Ariel? Doctor?” River called. “Look at his,” she mumbled, leaning over and peering at something they could not see.

The couple walked over and watched as she lifted up the cover to a manhole.

“So where does that go?” The Doctor hummed as he shined his torch on the cover. 

River pulled out her portable computer and scanned the manhole. “There’s a network of tunnels running under here,” she announced.

“With that being so close to the alien tech there’s no question that whatever was in here used those tunnels,” Ariel sighed.

“Are there life signs?” The Doctor asked.

“No, nothing that’s showing up,” River said, shaking her head at the couple.

“Those are the worst kind,” the Doctor mumbled.

River put her computer back into her jacket and prepared to go down into the tunnels. 

“Be careful!” The Doctor cried.

“Careful?” River scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I tried that once,” she nodded. “Ever so dull,” she smiled.

Ariel grinned and narrowed her eyes at the tunnels. “Should I come down with you?” She asked.

“No, I’ll just pop down for a quick scan,” River assured her. “If I decide it’s worth another go you can come if you’d like,” she said and Ariel nodded.

“Shout if you get into trouble,” the Doctor instructed.

“Don’t worry, I’m  _ quite  _ the screamer,” River smirked and the Doctor and Ariel both shared a grin. “Though you’ve already experienced screaming with Ariel, haven’t you?” River smiled knowingly and Ariel grinned.

River lowered herself into the tunnels and the Doctor and Ariel shared a knowing look.

“Tell me what’s going on here,” Canton demanded and they both jumped up like children caught with their hands in the cookie jar. 

“Er, nothing,” the Doctor shook his head. “She’s just a friend.”

“Well, she still is to you,” Ariel murmured, smirking down at her feet. 

The Doctor grinned as he watched her for a moment, but reddened when he looked up and he saw the three faces staring at him in confusion.

“I think he’s talking about the possible alien incursion,” Rory mumbled awkwardly and the Doctor’s face automatically cleared. 

“Okay!” He exclaimed with a large grin. 

Ariel giggled as he grabbed her hand and marched onward to continue inspecting the area. 

“So, what did you get up to while I was away?” The Doctor asked as he walked around to the strange alien bed and began inspecting the wires.

Ariel shined her torch on the wires for him and narrowed her eyes. “I’d have thought you wouldn’t want to know about the everyday human life on Earth. I mean, it was boring for me so it must be hell for you.”

“Of course, no,” the Doctor frowned. “What could possibly make you think that?” He wondered.

“Have you met you?” Ariel chuckled. “Are you honestly telling me you’d like to learn about the days for school where I’d wake up early Monday through Friday and wait for fifteen to twenty minutes for my bus to arrive and sat in classrooms for countless hours learning information I don’t even need anymore?”

The Doctor looked almost repulsed at the very idea. “No, you’re right just stick to these past two months,” he nodded and Ariel laughed. 

“Why would you want to know that?” Ariel asked. “It’s basically the same old boring day to day stuff. It’s a dead ordinary life back on Earth.”

“Yes, but it’s your life,” the Doctor insisted and Ariel couldn’t fight the grin that blossomed onto her face at his words. The Doctor stopped inspecting the alien tech for a moment and gazed up at her. “If it’s your life then it doesn’t matter how boring or ordinary it might be, I want to hear it,” he said and butterflies soared through Ariel’s stomach.

“I thought you didn’t want to listen to the exhausting day after day from back when I was in school?” Ariel reminded him with a chuckle.

“That’s because I didn’t know you then,” the Doctor mumbled.

“Yes, you did,” Ariel laughed. “You’ve crossed through my timeline dozens of times since we met.”

“Yeah, well I did, but I didn’t,” the Doctor winced, realizing how little sense that made.

“Wibbly wobbly?” Ariel assumed with a laugh.

“Timey wimey,” the Doctor agreed with a nod, happy she could understand his most jumbled of sentences. “But never mind that,” he sighed. “If you want to tell me about your days at school I’d be more than happy to listen,” he assured her. “I just want to know what you did these past two months while I was traveling on my own.”

“If I tell you what I did, you’ll tell me what you did more in detail, right?” Ariel prompted. 

“I always do,” the Doctor nodded.

“Right then,” Ariel sighed. She walked over to the Doctor’s side and pulled up a box so she could sit down while she talked. “There wasn’t really much to it. The first week or so I mostly kept to myself listening to sad music after you left. Pathetic, I know, but I didn’t really know what else to do since I didn’t want to talk to you and I didn’t completely understand what to do with myself right away. I mean, I’ve traveled with you for almost three years now. It was a pretty big leap to just dive straight back into normal life.”

“Amy and Rory do it,” the Doctor frowned.

“Yeah, that’s because they haven’t spent all their time with you,” Ariel sighed. “I’m not complaining, I’m just saying the last time I was on Earth and left to my own devices was right after my Mum died. I had to sort of figure out how to live again.”

“And you thought you’d do that by listening to sad music?” The Doctor chuckled. 

“Oh, to each their own,” Ariel sighed while the Doctor simply laughed. “It helped at the time, okay?” She said, finding even as she tried to feign frustration the Doctor’s laughter still made her smile. 

“You listened to Sia songs on repeat, didn’t you?” The Doctor chuckled.

“Yeah,” Ariel grumbled, a tiny bit frustrated that he knew her so well.

“ _ Breathe me _ ?” The Doctor guessed.

“Oh, shut up, I was mourning!” Ariel exclaimed and the Doctor just laughed. “But never mind,” she huffed and the Doctor only laughed harder. “For the next three weeks I sort of wound up following Rory to the hospital like a lost dog because I was getting so antsy.”

“Ah, yeah,” the Doctor winced. “Time passes  _ really  _ slowly when you’re going through it all in the right order,” he mumbled. 

“Something I learned once I moved out of that week of depression,” Ariel nodded. “I tried going to the hospital because I thought a busy place like that would be able to distract me from how exhausting going through each day was but I wound up just annoying Rory.”

“What did you do?” The Doctor wondered with a small frown, curious of what could make Rory annoyed with his wife.

“Quite a few things,” Ariel chuckled. “For one, Rory was sent in to give the results of a surgery to this patient. Y’know, tell him whether or not they had managed to get all of this really big tumor he had out or if he would have to come in for more surgeries,” she nodded. “Rory was going to downplay how bad it was, but I had gotten so irritated with everything that I read the chart and I believe my exact words were, ‘blimey, how are you still alive?! This is terrible!’”

The Doctor barked out a sharp laugh and shook his head. “Bet Rory enjoyed that one.”

“I didn’t!” Rory called. “I especially didn’t like it when she told the elderly woman in a stable condition that according to the charts she should have been dead ages ago,” he huffed and the Doctor laughed once more.

“I was bored!” Ariel moaned. “He was sugarcoating everything and I thought people deserved the truth.”

“I was telling them the truth!” Rory exclaimed. “Just telling it to them in a way that wouldn’t make them die of heart attacks.”

“Oh, please,” Ariel scoffed. “You told an eighty-six-year-old who’s brain tumor had returned that everything was fine and you were just going to run a few more tests.”

“Well, that’s certainly better that telling her everything is awful because she’s dying again,” Rory retorted and the Doctor gasped for air as he laughed.

“Whatever,” Ariel rolled her eyes. “At least she learned the truth,” she muttered, shrugging to Rory. “Anyway,” she sighed. “After that I got a job because Rory wouldn’t let me go to the hospital with him anymore.”

“I can’t imagine why,” the Doctor said sarcastically. 

“Oh, hush up,” Ariel smiled, hitting the Doctor lightly on the back of the head. 

The Doctor beamed at her for a moment before turning back to the alien tech with a small frown. “But seriously? You got a job?”

“Yeah, it was something to keep me busy,” Ariel shrugged. “Otherwise, I’d go out of my mind stuck in that house,” she mumbled.

“You could have always joined Jack,” the Doctor offered. “I know he’s been desperate to get you to join Torchwood.”

“That’s Cardiff, Doctor,” Ariel reminded him.

“And?” The Doctor prompted with a raised brow.

“The Ponds are in London,” Ariel chuckled. “I wasn’t going to take a three hour bus ride just to have a couple hours there then return,” she sighed. “And even if I did drive that wouldn’t be much quicker.”

“Is it really that long?” The Doctor frowned.

“Yep,” Ariel muttered. “But it’s fine,” she assured him with a shake of her head. “Once I got a job I felt better.”

“Where did you work?” The Doctor asked.

“Assistant to a magazine editor,” Ariel replied and the Doctor spared her a momentary look of surprise. “I wanted to work with writing still but I knew if I tried to take a job at a library again I’d hate my life,” she muttered and the Doctor could not help but shrug, finding nothing to argue that with.

“So, you built a life of your own,” the Doctor mumbled.

“Not really,” Ariel chuckled. “I never wanted to build a life of my own.”

“Why not?” The Doctor wondered, turning to her with a small frown. “Wouldn’t you want that one day? A normal life?”

“No, you idiot,” Ariel laughed. “I married you because I was okay not having a normal life,” she smiled. She leant forward and cupped his beautifully idiotic cheeks. “I choose you,” she promised. “I’ll be more than happy to travel with you until the day comes that I grow too old and worn down to run across alien planets. Then I won’t blame you if you drop me off at some house on Earth for me to live out the rest of my days,” she chuckled at the very image in her mind. “So long as you don’t grow bored of me by then.”

“Never,” the Doctor grinned. 

He turned to her, invading her personal space and threaded both hands through her loose brown waves, tipping her head up before his lips descended on hers. Ariel grinning into his kiss and clung tightly to his coat, pulling him even closer as his tongue swept into her mouth, gliding against hers and making her dizzy in a second flat. 

Just as Ariel was about to melt into the kiss, a soft chuckle bounced towards them from the manhole, ripping them apart to their displeasure. 

“I see you too were busy while I was away,” River remarked and Ariel giggled.

The Doctor smiled softly and got up, walking over to greet River. “Did you find anything?”

“No,” River shook her head. “All clear. Just tunnels. Nothing down there I can see,” she said. She paused and glanced back down with a small frown. “Er, give me five minutes. I want to take another look around,” she sighed. “Ariel, love, would you like to come with me?” 

“Sure,” Ariel smiled and began walking towards the manhole.

“Stupidly dangerous!” The Doctor moaned, glanced at Ariel with large eyes.

She just giggled as she knelt down beside River.

“I like it too,” River smiled and nodded. 

“Oh, Amy,” Ariel said, turning to look over her shoulder at the redhead who was inspecting the crates of spacesuits.

“Mm?” Amy prompted. 

“Look after him will you?” Ariel smiled, nodding to the Doctor who had gone back to the alien technology.

Amy grinned and tossed a reassuring wink to Ariel. The brunette grinned and cast one last glance back at the Doctor before heading into the tunnels with River.

The Doctor watched them leave with caution in his eyes. He was getting a bad feeling having Ariel go down into the tunnels. It was one thing for River to be taking the risk, he still barely knew her, but he didn’t want to lose the woman he loved to something he could have helped stop.

“Rory, would you mind going with them?” The Doctor murmured.

“Yeah, a bit,” Rory frowned, not at all enjoying the idea of going down into the dark tunnels where anything could happen.

“Then I’d appreciate it all the more,” the Doctor smiled, clapping a hand on Rory’s shoulder.

Rory sighed in irritation, knowing if the shoe were on the other foot the Doctor would be willing to go down and look after Amy.

“Hang on, Ariel,” Rory called. “I’m coming too,” he mumbled, tossing a dirty glare at the Doctor who just grinned as he headed over to the tunnels.

“Lovely!” Ariel exclaimed, popping her head out to smile at Rory. “Maybe, we can spend the time talking about how that little girl with pneumonia having a panic attack  _ was not my fault. _ ”

“You say that as though you weren’t the only who let slip you had a cousin that died from pneumonia once,” Rory sighed as he headed down into the tunnel.

“I didn't mean for her to hear!” Ariel exclaimed. “You were the one who barked out, ‘why would you tell me about your dead cousin when I’m facing a pneumonia case?!’” She cried, doing an impression of Rory as she quoted him, but making a strangely deep and almost amusing voice in place of his ordinary one.

“Okay, I do not sound like that,” Rory frowned. 

“I know but it’d be really funny if you did,” Ariel giggled. 

Rory simply rolled his eyes but could not help the light chuckle that followed her words. However, that chuckle died on his lips when in the distance they spotted River leaning over and clutching her stomach.

“River!” Ariel cried.

They both ran to her side and Rory placed a gentle hand on her back as he frowned at her.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

River gulped harshly and nodded despite Ariel knowing she certainly did not seem okay. “Yes, yes,” she muttered. “I just felt a bit sick. It's the prison food, probably,” she shrugged. Ariel and Rory shared a look, knowing whatever was happening it was likely not the River’s prison food. Still, neither said a thing. “Okay, this way?” River prompted, shining her torch toward the tunnels to their left. “What do you think?”

“It’s as good a place to start as any,” Ariel shrugged. 

“Just what I thought,” River nodded. “Come on, then.”

Though Rory hung behind, still wary of their surroundings, they all carried on walking down the tunnels. 

Ariel spun around as she walked by River’s side while the woman scanned the area. The brunette shined her torch on everything she could to see if she might find something out of the ordinary, but all she received was a strange and uneasy feeling with no reason for it.

“Something’s wrong,” Ariel mumbled, glancing around with a small frown.

“Love?” River prompted with a raised brow.

“I dunno,” Ariel shook her head. “I keep getting this really weird feeling,” she winced. “Like something’s watching us but I can’t see anything else in these tunnels.”

“Yeah, I keep thinking I hear things,” Rory nodded, turning right then as he thought he heard some strange breathing.

“How old did you say these tunnels were again?” Ariel asked River. “Maybe I’m just losing it,” she muttered.

“I didn’t,” River shook her head. “Hold on,” she said, and began typing something on her portable computer.

“In the meantime,” Ariel said, turning back to Rory. “What do you think you’re hearing?”

“Like, breathing,” Rory frowned, shaking his head at the very thought.

“Close by?” Ariel implored. “Far away?”

“Both at times,” Rory murmured. “But that’s not possible, is it? There can’t be some creature right by us that we can’t see.”

“Mm, never say never,” Ariel hummed. “You’ll learn that traveling with the Doctor. The impossible is always possible. After all, you died and became a Roman,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, but,” he sighed and shook his head. “If something was here, we’d see it. Wouldn’t we?”

“I dunno,” Ariel shrugged. “I have no idea what we’re dealing with yet. It could be anything and I’m not going to just assume with the little amount of information I do have,” she said and Rory sighed softly but nodded in understanding.

“Huh,” River remarked and Ariel turned to her immediately.

“What? What is it?” Ariel asked.

“That's interesting. These tunnels are old. Really old. How can they be really old and nobody notice them?” River wondered. 

“Maybe, it has to do with whatever aliens we’re facing,” Ariel suggested. “Maybe, they kept people out.”

“Good idea, my love, but I don’t think so,” River hummed. “If they were killing people we’d still hear about them, or even the tunnels,” she said. “No, something else is at work here.”

They headed further down the path and came across a large metal door. River beamed at the very sight, pocketing her portable computer and rushing up to the wheel at the center of the door.

“It’s a maintenance hatch,” Rory remarked, shining his torch on the rusted, worn down door.

River and Ariel both tried to spin the wheel and huffed at their failure.

“It’s locked,” River sighed. “Oh, why do people always lock things?” She moaned as she pulled out her portable computer and began programming it to unlock the door.

“Probably because they’re the type of people that want to keep their belongings away from people like us?” Ariel suggested with a soft chuckle. 

“Don’t you just hate those people?” River chortled, smirking as she continued to type on her portable computer.

“What’s through there?” Rory asked, frowning at the door.

“I’ve no idea,” River shrugged.

“Something bad?” Rory guessed.

“Almost definitely,” River assured him with a grin.

“You're going to open it, aren't you?” Rory assumed with an almost defeated sigh.

“Oh, of course we are,” Ariel smiled.

“Why?” Rory wondered.

“Well, it's locked,” River shrugged. “How's a girl supposed to resist?” She smirked and Ariel giggled, nodding in agreement.

“Is this sensible?” Rory implored, sounding more like a parent than ever as he addressed the two women.

“God, I hope not,” River gasped, beaming at Rory.

“What would be the fun in sensible?” Ariel scoffed and River tossed a wink at the brunette.

“Y’know there are days when I wonder how the pair of you could end up with the Doctor and then we hit days like these,” Rory sighed and Ariel laughed.

“Keep a look out,” River instructed with a smile. 

Rory took a deep breath and nodded, spinning around as Ariel took River’s torch and shined her own on the woman so she could get the door unlocked.

“What did you mean?” Rory asked. “When you said there's a worse day coming for you,” he said.

River took a shaky breath and glanced up at Ariel, raising a questioning eyebrow. River wanted to know if it was okay for her to speak about a day Ariel had already experienced and the brunette would be alright not spoiling. Ariel took a deep breath and nodded. 

“When I first met the Doctor, a long, long time ago, he knew all about me,” River sighed. “Ariel too,” she said, nodding to the brunette. “But, think about that. An impressionable young girl and, suddenly this man just drops out of the sky and he's clever and mad and wonderful, and knows every last thing about her. Imagine what that does to a girl,” she smiled.

Ariel grinned. While the Doctor had not know all about her, she had still been greeted with the clever, mad, wonderful Doctor she met back in 2008.

“I don’t really have to,” Rory mumbled awkwardly. 

“The trouble is, it's all back to front,” River shrugged. “My past is their future. We're travelling in opposite directions. Every time we meet, I know them more, they know me less,” she sighed and Ariel hung her head in regret. “I live for the days when I see them, but I know that every time I do, they'll be one step further away. And the day is coming when I'll look into their eyes,  _ my  _ Doctor and  _ my  _ Ariel,” she sighed. “And they won't have the faintest idea who I am,” she muttered. The door whirred loudly as it clicked and unlocked for River. She took a deep breath and turned back to Rory with true sadness clenching her eyes. “And I think it's going to kill me,” she mumbled.

Ariel sucked in a sharp breath and stepped back, her heart thudding in her ears as she watched River open the door. She wanted so badly to tell her everything, but knew she couldn’t. She wanted to warn River away from the library, but she  _ couldn’t _ . No matter how badly she wanted, she could not save the lives of the two people she loved most in the universe.

They stepped inside the room that had been locked and Ariel frowned at her surroundings. The technology surrounding them seemed familiar, almost as though she had seen it before. 

There was some sort of smoke of fog wafting in from the floors and River tore out her computer to scan the area, likely in the hope of figuring out which race th4e technology originated from.

“What is this place?” Rory frowned.

Before either of them could respond, there was a strange buzzing through the technology. An alarm had been set off with their presence. 

“That’s an alarm,” River sighed. “Check if anything’s coming,” she instructed.

“On it,” Rory nodded. 

“I know this place from somewhere,” Ariel mumbled.

“What?” River gasped, glancing to her with large eyes.

“Oh, that’s right!” Ariel exclaimed. “Back when the Doctor and I visited Aickman Road. This bloke named Craig? This was the exact ship that was pretending to be the first floor while it killed humans in search of some pilot.”

“I wonder what it’s doing here,” River mumbled. She walked over to one of the panels and began scanning the strange globe at the top of each of the panels.

“There’s nothing out there,” Rory sighed as he popped back inside the room.

River placed her hand on the globe but Ariel quickly peeled it off. “Don’t,” Ariel instructed. “Last time, that thing burned the flesh off my skin,” she muttered, narrowing her eyes hatefully at the globe.

River nodded and continued to scan the area. “This is strange,” she frowned. “These tunnels, they're not just here, they're everywhere. They're running under the surface of the entire planet. They've been here for centuries,” she breathed.

“How can they have gone unnoticed for that long?” Ariel wondered.

“I dunno, but something’s very wrong here,” River mumbled.

“You can say that again,” Ariel scoffed. 

All of a sudden, there was a sharp scream. Both women whirled around to see Rory in the hands of some strange alien wearing a suit and tie. 

“Rory!” River cried. 

More aliens came in, all appearing identical and the women back away slowly, watching them with unblinking eyes.

Ariel’s heart pounded loudly in her chest and she was unsure if she was even breathing as the aliens hissed. 

One of the aliens before her opened its mouth and extended a three-fingered hand out to her and Ariel let out a piercing scream.


	5. Greystark Hall Orphanage

Three months later- July 1969

Ariel raced through the woods, pushing trees that whipped onto her face away from her path furiously. She donned a shirt and small shorts and on every inch of visible skin there were tally marks covering her body.

For three months she had visited; Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and now Wyoming in search of the aliens she and her friends first met in the warehouse.

She had barely escaped that day, and though she was uncertain whether or not the alien would have killed her, she knew that without River tearing her away and bolting out of the room within a matter of moments she may not be alive to search for those very aliens.

The Doctor had concocted a plan once the group had all run back to the Tardis.

He allowed himself to be imprisoned by the American government and placed in Area 51 for studying while; Ariel, River, Rory and Amy all went across the country hunting down the aliens from the warehouse.

River covered the northeastern United States, Ariel covered the northwest and Amy and Rory both handled the South.

Ariel was uncertain of what the others had found, but as far as she knew the aliens were everywhere.

There wasn’t a stone left unturned by them.

She had started to believe that whatever these creatures were, they had been there long before people reached America and for some reason decided to go into hiding in the presence of humans rather than claiming the land as their rightful homes.

They clearly had far more numbers than humans.

However, before she was able to carry any of this information to the others, Canton and the rest of the FBI tracked her down.

In countless four wheel drives, the men followed her and no matter where she ran, they all seemed to be there.

Ariel bolted through the trees right into the center of Yellowstone National Park.

She tried to continue running but, pulling up just ahead of her, were three more cars ready to capture her.

She spun around, desperate for a way out when there seemed to be none.

Seeing this, one of the four wheel drives rolled up to her and came to a stop. A door on the passenger side opened and out stepped Canton Everett Delaware the third.

“Canton,” Ariel gasped.

“Miss Parsons,” Canton nodded. “You’ve been running for quite a bit now.”

“And you seem to always track me down,” Ariel nodded. “I’d congratulate you for finally finding me if your men weren’t pulling out a body bag.”

“It’s nothing personal,” Canton promised, glancing down at the open body bag dropped by his side only momentarily.

“Funny,” Ariel scoffed, rolling her eyes at the man. “It feels pretty personal.”

“Well, I suppose that’s just the price I’ll have to pay then,” Canton sighed. He raised his pistol and rather than close her eyes, Ariel glared at him.

He pulled the trigger just as Old Faithful erupted right beside the brunette.

~~~

Returning to Nevada, Canton returned to the Doctor. The man had grown a beard in the three months that passed. He also donned a straightjacket and was in the very center of the perfect prison built around his body.

“We found Miss Parsons,” Canton announced. He dropped a set of photos in front of the Doctor just as several men dragged in three body bags.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at the photos and as he turned, his eyes sought out the very body bag Ariel laid in.

“Did she put up a fight?” The Doctor asked, his voice barely above a whisper as he spoke.

“She ran,” Canton said frankly. “From the FBI and the Secret Service. For two months.”

The Doctor smirked as he watched Ariel be placed on the ground. “That’s my girl,” he murmured. He glanced up at Canton who was staring down at him expectantly. “Is there a reason you’re doing this?” He asked, exhaustion wearing down on his voice as he spoke.

“I want you to know where you stand,” Canton said simply as all the other men walked out and he was left alone with the Doctor and the body bags.

“In a cell,” the Doctor nodded.

“In the perfect cell,” Canton corrected. “Nothing can penetrate these walls. Not a sound, not a radio wave, not the tiniest particle of anything,” he told him as he closed the door and it vanished. Where the door had once been, Canton’s single handprint remained. “In here, you're literally cut off from the rest of the universe,” he sighed before turning back to the Doctor with a smile. “So I guess they can't hear us, right?”

“Good work, Canton,” the Doctor smirked. “Door sealed?” He prompted.

“You bet,” Canton assured him with a nod.

At those two words, the three body bags lying on the ground sat up with large gasps. The Doctor shrugged off his shackles and straightjacket before falling to the ground beside the body bag marked: A. Parsons.

He unzipped the bag and Ariel sucked in deep breaths, her brown hair falling in waves around her as she tried to breath.

“Are you okay?” The Doctor muttered, cupping her cheek delicately as he brushed some of her hair out of her face.

Ariel nodded numbly and smiled as she spotted his beard. “You’ve gotten older,” she remarked.

“Three months,” the Doctor reminded her.

“Finally,” Amy gasped.

She giggled and nodded. “Three months without me and you stop shaving,” Ariel chuckled.

“I’m lost without you by my side,” the Doctor sighed, smiling as he helped Ariel climb out of the bag.

“These things could really do with air holes,” Rory mumbled, pushing his body bag to the side as he helped Amy out of hers.

“Never had a complaint before,” Canton shrugged.

“Y’know I’d be worried if you did,” Ariel muttered and the Doctor snorted.

“Isn't it going to look odd that you're staying in here with us?” Amy wondered, narrowing her eyes at Canton.

“Odd, but not alarming,” Canton shook his head. “They know there's no way out of this place.”

“Exactly,” the Doctor nodded. “Whatever they might think we're doing in here, they know we're not going anywhere.”

Which was the exact cue for the Doctor to slump to his right and reveal the Tardis cloaked within the cell making Ariel smirk.

“Would you do the honours?” The Doctor prompted.

Ariel grinned and snapped, making the doors of the Tardis creak open. “Oh, I missed that sound,” she hummed.

The Doctor grinned and stepped forward extending a single hand to Ariel and bowing before her. “Shall we?”

Ariel beamed at him and accepted his hand. Together, they raced into the Tardis and the other three followed quickly.

“What about Doctor Song?” Canton asked as he stepped inside and closed the doors behind them.

“What about her?” Ariel frowned.

“She dove off a rooftop,” Canton responded and rather than grow worried, Ariel just rolled her eyes.

“Of course, she did,” Ariel sighed.

“Don't worry,” the Doctor shook his head. “She does that,” he assured Canton and though confused, Canton did not implore further. “Amy, Rory, open all the doors to the swimming pool,” he instructed.

The couple nodded and ran to do just that.

“Ariel-?” The Doctor began.

“Grab the towels and spare change of clothes,” Ariel nodded. “Got it,” she smiled.

“Brilliant,” the Doctor grinned. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and she ran out to the closets beside the swimming pool and grabbed a set of towels. She bolted to River’s room and pulled out a spare change of clothes for the woman as they landed by the rooftop.

In mid-air, River spun around and moved into a dive as she soared into the Tardis and splashed roughly into the swimming pool.

Ariel rushed inside after her and River grinned upon the sight of her.

“Thank you, love,” River smiled, gratefully accepting the towels to run through her hair.

“Here, spare change of clothes,” Ariel offered, holding out the outfit for River.

“Perfect,” River grinned and Ariel headed out as she let her hair down and got changed.

Ariel walked into the console room and over to the Doctor’s side where he flashed a quick smile at her before wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close.

“So, we know they're everywhere,” the Doctor announced to the group. “Not just a landing party, an occupying force, and they have been here a very, _very_ long time. But nobody knows that, because no one can remember them,” he shrugged.

“So what are they up to?” Canton implored.

“No idea,” the Doctor sighed, seeming almost disappointed about that fact.

“Any information we have about them disappears along with our memory of them,” Ariel informed him.

“But the good news is, we've got a secret weapon,” the Doctor smiled.

River headed into the console room at the exact moment the Doctor landed the Tardis and they all rushed outside, only to gape at a large Saturn V rocket sat atop a launch pad at Kennedy Space Centre.

“No,” Ariel breathed.

“Apollo 11’s your secret weapon?” River frowned, still combing through her hair with the towel Ariel had given her.

“No, no. It's not Apollo 11,” the Doctor shook his head. “That would be silly,” he scoffed. “It's Neil Armstrong's foot,” he smirked.

“Okay,” Ariel mumbled as they all headed back inside. “But you know you can’t actually go up to Neil, right? The first time we meet him is on the Moon,” she reminded him.

“I know,” the Doctor nodded. “Which is why this is going to be tricky,” he muttered. “But don’t worry, you’re not going to be coming,” he told her.

“Like hell I’m not,” Ariel scoffed. “What else could I be doing that’s more important?” She wondered.

“Looking for the little girl,” the Doctor told her and her eyes widened.

“We still haven’t found her?!” Ariel exclaimed, spinning back to Canton with a raised brow.

Canton winced against the anger in her eyes. “I was busy,” he shrugged.

“Yeah, locking up my husband!” Ariel snapped. “Is this really the most important thing right now?” She moaned.

“Yes, it is,” the Doctor nodded. “Because while I’m working at NASA, you’ll take Canton and Amy to look for the little girl,” he instructed as he began working on something at the console.

“But these aliens obviously want something to do with the space program,” Ariel insisted. “Shouldn’t we be focusing on whatever it is they’re doing there?”

“We will be,” the Doctor nodded. “But they obviously chose this little girl for a reason. They want something to do with her, so while I deal with NASA I’ve got to put my best eyes on her,” he smirked as he turned around and cupped Ariel’s cheek.

Ariel grinned and rolled her eyes. “You’re just saying that so I’ll go without asking anymore questions.”

“It’s true,” the Doctor insisted. “You’re the one face I can trust most,” he promised. “But I need to make sure you lot can remember if you see anything when you go so,” he said as he walked over to Canton.

The Doctor used a small device in his hands to inject something into Canton’s hand.

“Ow!” Canton cried, yanking his hand back furiously.

The Doctor just smirked. “Ha,” he said before spinning around to the group. “So, before we go out, it’s been three months. What have we found out about them?” He implored.

“Well, they are everywhere,” Rory sighed. “Every state in America,” he said and winced as the Doctor injected him. “Ahh.”

“Not just America, the entire world,” the Doctor corrected, spinning around and injecting River.

“Ow!” River snapped.

The Doctor grinned and moved around to Amy.

“There's a greater concentration here, though,” Rory shrugged.

“He’s right,” Ariel nodded. “For some reason, they’re all in America.”

“Ow!” Amy yelled as the Doctor injected her.

Rather than laugh or seem generally amused by the short sting of pain Amy felt, the Doctor seemed genuinely concerned about Amy as he stopped and glanced down at her.

Ariel and Rory shared a confused frown. There was something their significant others weren’t telling them.

“Er, what’s going on?” Ariel asked.

“What’s up?” Rory frowned at the pair.

“Nothing,” Amy shook her head furiously. Rory seemed unconvinced and she just huffed and shot him a glare. “Really, nothing. Seriously,” she insisted and that seemed to turn Rory away.

The Doctor walked over and draped an arm over Ariel’s shoulder and she glanced up at him with a raised brow.

“What is it?” She mumbled.

“A long story,” the Doctor sighed. “I’ll tell you when all this is over,” he assured her and she nodded.

“So you've seen them, but you don't remember them,” Canton clarified with a small frown.

“You've seen them, too,” River reminded him with a nod. “That night at the warehouse, remember? While you were pretending to hunt us down, we saw hundreds of those things. We still don't know what they look like,” she sighed.

“It's like they edit themselves out of your memory as soon as you look away,” Rory muttered. “The exact second you're not looking at them, you can't remember anything.”

“Makes me dizzy sometimes just trying to focus on the memory they made me forget,” Ariel murmured.

“Sometimes you feel a bit sick, though, but not always,” Amy added with a nod.

“But no matter what we do, we can never remember if we’ve seen one or not,” Ariel sighed.

“So that’s why you marked your skin,” Canton realized.

“Only way we'd know if we'd had an encounter,” Amy shrugged.

“How long have they been here?” Canton wondered.

“That's what we've spent the last three months trying to find out,” Ariel said.

“Not easy, if you can't remember anything you discover,” Rory muttered.

“How long do you think?” Canton asked.

“As long as there's been something in the corner of your eye, or creaking in your house, or breathing under your bed, or voices through a wall,” the Doctor sighed.

“So, basically always,” Ariel nodded.

“They've been running your lives for a very long time now, so keep this straight in your head,” the Doctor instructed. “We are not fighting an alien invasion, we're leading a revolution. And today, the battle begins,” he hummed.

“How?” Canton frowned.

“Like this,” the Doctor smirked as he whirled around and injected Ariel.

“Ow!” Ariel shrieked, pulling her hand away and glaring at the Doctor.

The Doctor just laughed and wrapped his hand around her as she stared at her hand curiously. “What the hell is this thing?” She mumbled.

“Nanorecorder,” the Doctor replied. “Fuses with the cartilage in your hand,” he explained before injecting himself. “Ow,” he winced and tossed the device he had used to inject them back onto the console. “And it tunes itself directly to the speech centres in your brain. It'll pick up your voice, no matter what. Telepathic connection. So, the moment you see one of the creatures, you activate it,” he instructed as he activated the device with a press of his fingers and a red flashing light came on. “And describe aloud exactly what you're seeing.”

He broke contact for a moment before he pressed on the device once more and the red flashing light turned off but the Doctor’s voice came through loud and clear from the nanorecorder.

“And describe aloud exactly what you’re seeing,” the Doctor repeated in the recording.

“Because the moment you break contact, you're going to forget it happened,” the Doctor explained. “The light will flash if you've left yourself a message. You keep checking your hand if you've had an encounter. That's the first you'll know about it,” he said.

“Why didn't you tell me this before we started?” Canton frowned.

“I did, but even information about these creatures erases itself over time,” the Doctor shrugged. “I couldn't refresh it because I couldn't talk to you,” he sighed.

“Hold on, there’s still one thing I don’t get,” Ariel mumbled. “These creatures wanted a spaceman and spacesuits, I get that bit, but if that is the case then they must have had a hand in humanity deciding to go to the Moon right? I mean they wanted spacesuits and all,” she shrugged. “The one thing I don’t understand is, how did they make it happen? How did they get humanity to decide to go to the Moon, and thus make spacesuits, without anybody knowing?”

“I’ll show you,” the Doctor smiled. He headed over to Amy and out of earshot of the others, said, “Amy, you got a picture of one of these creatures, right?”

“Yeah, on my mobile, I-,” Amy muttered, fishing her phone out of her pocket.

“Give it to Ariel. We’re going to try something,” the Doctor said.

“Alright,” Amy mumbled.

Once she passed her phone to Ariel, the brunette turned to the Doctor with a raised brow.

“Activate the interface like I showed you,” the Doctor instructed and Ariel nodded, heading over to the console to plug Amy’s phone in.

“Canton, I want you to look directly at me,” the Doctor said. “Don’t think of anything else, just focus on me.”

“Why?” Canton frowned. “What’s she doing?” He asked, attempting to peer over the Doctor’s shoulder to look at the console where River was helping Ariel with the controls.

“Don’t worry about that,” the Doctor shook his head. “Can you remember what I told you to do with the nanorecorder in your hand?”

“‘Course I can,” Canton shrugged. “You told me only a second ago.”

“What was it?” The Doctor asked. “What did I tell you to do?”

“If we spot one of the aliens start recording and to keep checking our hands for recordings,” Canton nodded.

“Good,” the Doctor said. “Now, slow as you can, turn around and activate the nanorecorder,” he instructed as the hologram of the alien appeared behind Canton.

Canton frowned but nodded and slowly turned around only to jump back and suck in a sharp breath when he spotted the alien.

“My God, how did it get in here?” Canton gasped.

“Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie,” the Doctor instructed.

There was a moment of pause as they all watched Canton and the Doctor.

“Okay,” the Doctor murmured. “Turn back,” he muttered.

Canton nodded and slowly turned back to the Doctor. His face fell and grew almost stoic as he turned to the Doctor and straightened his bow tie.

They all watched on with large eyes.

“Oh, my God,” Ariel breathed.

“What? What are you staring at?” Canton frowned.

“Look at your hand,” River mumbled, her voice shaky and cautious as she spoke.

Canton looked down and his eyes grew wide at the little dot flashing the signal for a message. “Why is it doing that?” Canton asked.

“Why else?” Ariel shrugged.

“What does it mean if the light's flashing? What did I _just_ tell you?” The Doctor reminded him.

“I haven’t-,” Canton began with a shake of his head.

“Play it,” the Doctor instructed, cutting him off with a nod.

Canton hesitated but nodded and pressed his fingers to the nanorecorder within his hand.

His voice began just after he had turned around to see the creature.

“My God, how did it get in here?” Canton gasped once again.

“Keep eye contact with the creature and, when I say, turn back, and when you do, straighten my bow tie.”

There was a moment of pause on the recording as Canton turned around.

“Oh, my God,” Ariel murmured in the recording.

“What? What are you staring at?” Canton asked once again in the recording.

“Look at your hand,” River said.

Canton turned around once again and glanced at the holographic image of the creature with large eyes.

“It's a hologram, extrapolated from the photo on Amy's phone,” the Doctor explained. “Take a good, long look.”

He turned and nodded to Ariel and she turned off the hologram, tossing Amy’s phone back to her.

“You just saw an image of one of the creatures we're fighting. Describe it to me,” he instructed.

“I can’t,” Canton frowned.

“No,” the Doctor sighed, leaning back almost in defeat. “Neither can I,” he mumbled. “You straightened my bow tie because I planted the idea in your head while you were looking at the creature,” he informed Canton.

“That’s how they got humanity to want to go to the Moon,” Ariel nodded in understanding.

“So they could do that to people,” Amy said with large eyes. “You could be doing stuff and not really knowing why you're doing it.”

“Like posthypnotic suggestion,” Rory muttered.

“Ruling the world with posthypnotic suggestion?” Amy frowned.

“They’ve been doing it for centuries now,” Ariel sighed.

The Doctor nodded and walked up behind Ariel. He wrapped his arms around her waist and she held his arms happily as he glanced around at the rest of the group.

“Now then, a little girl in a spacesuit,” the Doctor sighed. “They got the suit from NASA, but where did they get the girl?” He wondered.

“It could be anywhere,” Canton shrugged.

“Except they'd probably stay close to that warehouse, because why bother doing anything else?” The Doctor said. “And they'd take her from somewhere that would cause the least amount of attention,” he nodded. “But you'll have to find her. I'm off to NASA.”

“But where do we look?” Canton frowned.

The Doctor took a deep breath and pulled away from Ariel to set in the coordinates on the Tardis. “Children’s homes,” he smiled as though it were obvious that the child could only be there.

~~~

That night, Amy and Ariel changed into outfits more typical of what FBI might wear and headed to the Greystark Hall Orphanage with Canton.

They knocked on the door and a man swung it open fairly quickly, greeting them with a curious frown.

“Hello?” The man prompted.

Canton pulled out his ID and flashed it to the man. “FBI. You must be Doctor Renfrew,” Canton smiled. Obviously the Doctor had looked up who owned each children’s home they visited before they went. “Can we come in?” He asked as he put the ID away.

“The children are asleep,” Doctor Renfrew huffed.

“We’ll be very quiet,” Amy assured him with a nod.

Ariel, however, did not respond, but instead stepped back and glanced up at the exterior of the children’s home. It seemed broken down and tired and Ariel couldn’t imagine any child being happy there.

“Is there a problem?” Doctor Renfrew prompted, catching the look of concern passing across Ariel’s face.

She had lived in flats entirely broken down and cheap when her mother sank deep into alcohol and only cared to notice Ariel when she was yelling at her. The first few years after her father’s death had been rough and the only reason Ariel stayed alive was her mother eventually finding work and throwing herself into it.

However, no matter how bad things had gotten she knew she would not be made any happier being brought to an orphanage like the one before her.

“It’s about a missing child,” Canton explained with a nod.

“Oh, alright,” Doctor Renfrew sighed as though he was frustrated that a child was missing. “Yes, come in, please,” he nodded, opening the door wider so they could walk inside. “This way. Please excuse the writing. It keeps happening. I try to clean it up.”

Ariel closed the door behind them and when she turned, her eyes practically fell out of her head. The place looked like an abandoned house straight out of a horror film rather than a children’s home.

On the wall there was writing in big letters: _Get Out. Leave Now._

“Who-Who wrote that?” Ariel wondered.

“It's the kids, yeah?” Amy guessed. “They did that.”

“Yes, the children,” Doctor Renfrew muttered. “It must be, yes. Anyway, my office is this way,” he said, pointing them up the steps.

Ariel narrowed her eyes at the man. If she were clever she’d go running at that moment, but whatever this man was hiding had to do with the creatures they were hunting, and what would be the fun in running and hiding?

“We nearly didn't come to this place,” Canton said. “I understood Greystark Hall was closed in 67.”

“That’s the plan, yes,” Doctor Renfrew sighed, nodding to the trio over his shoulder.

Amy and Ariel shared a frown. Something was seriously wrong with this man.

“The plan?” Amy implored with a raised brow.

“Not long now,” Doctor Renfrew mumbled.

“Sir, what year do you think it is?” Ariel asked with a small frown.

Doctor Renfrew walked up to the second floor and stared at the trio with narrowed eyes. “It’s 1966.”

The trio exchanged wide eyed gazes.

“It’s 1969,” Canton corrected, his tone breathless and fearful as he spoke.

“No, no. We close in 67,” Doctor Renfrew amended with an almost amused smile.  “That's the plan, yes,” he sighed as he carried on down the corridor.

“You misunderstood me, sir,” Canton frowned. “It's 1969 now.”

“Why are you saying that?” Doctor Renfrew asked. “Of course it isn't,” he scoffed.

“July,” Canton nodded, looking wary of the man’s every movement.

Doctor Renfrew hesitated before shaking his head and turning back down the corridor. “My office is this way. This way,” he muttered.

Ariel and Amy shared a knowing glance, communicating without words as they looked between each other and Doctor Renfrew. They knew this was the place they had been looking for.

“We’ll check upstairs,” Amy told Canton, pointing towards the staircase leading up to the third floor.

“Be careful,” Canton advised.

They each nodded and headed up the stairs.

“So that bloke’s bloody lost it,” Amy mumbled.

“Yeah, well what do you expect?” Ariel sighed. They headed up the stairs to the third floor and Ariel pulled out her torch from her coat pocket as they reached the dormitories. “He’s got whatever these creatures are stuck in his head twenty-four seven for three bloody years. It’d drive anyone mad.”

“I suppose,” Amy nodded.

“I mean, hell, I got migraines when I was stuck in this hotel with them for three days back in Oregon,” Ariel scoffed.

“Did you ever feel sick after being round them too long?” Amy wondered with a small frown.

“No,” Ariel shook her head. “Just gave me killer headaches with my memory being edited so often,” she said and turned to Amy who looked genuinely worried. “Why? Did you?”

“No,” Amy said automatically. More of an instinct than a genuine answer. Under Ariel’s knowing gaze and raised brow, she faltered. “Maybe,” she confessed. “A bit, yeah,” she sighed. “But I’m worried it may not have anything to do with these creatures.”

“What else could it be?” Ariel wondered with a shrug. “Maybe, they’re just tapping into something they’re not reaching with the rest of us when they edit your memories,” she said simply.

“Maybe,” Amy mumbled. “But I’m worried it may be about something else. I was- well, I thought I was pregnant,” she admitted and Ariel turned to her with large eyes.

“What?!” Ariel exclaimed.

“I wanted to tell you earlier but after we were running from those creatures in the warehouse and the Doctor sent us across America, I never got the chance,” Amy shrugged.

“But, hold on, you said you thought you were pregnant,” Ariel frowned. “Did you lose the baby?” She guessed.

“No,” Amy shook her head. “I don’t think I was pregnant at all. It must have been a false positive or something.”

“How many tests did you take?” Ariel asked. “My Mum always said if you think you’re pregnant take as many tests as possible because nothing’s absolute and you want to make sure the bugger’s actually inside of you before you run off telling the bloke.”

“Three,” Amy nodded. “But one of them said negative.”

“Then you take more,” Ariel sighed. “Or you go to a clinic and get it checked for sure,” she instructed. “Never give up that easy, but if you _are_ certain you aren’t pregnant then why are you feeling sick?” She wondered.

“I dunno,” Amy shrugged. “Maybe, I am pregnant,” she decided. “But I don’t think so. I just-maybe, it’s the stress of thinking I was pregnant.”

“Maybe,” Ariel mumbled. “But just to be sure, there are pregnancy tests in my old bathroom.”

“Why?” Amy frowned. “You told me you couldn’t get pregnant.”

“I have scares like any ordinary girl,” Ariel shrugged. “I got them from my friend Martha a while back and I haven’t used many but they are there if you want to try.”

“I think I will,” Amy nodded. “Thanks.”

“Any time,” Ariel smiled. “Now, as far as these dormitories go,” she sighed as she shined her light on the corridor. “How about you got left, I’ll go right and if you find anything, scream?” She suggested.

“Sounds good to me,” Amy smirked.

The two women then parted, each going to the first bedroom on their respective sides.

As Ariel walked into the first bedroom, her phone rang out and she smirked at the caller ID that she had grown to adore.

_Bowtie_

Ariel answered the phone as she closed the door behind her. “Husband!” Ariel exclaimed.

“Wife!” The Doctor grinned. “Have you found anything?”

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure we’re in the place the little girl was taken from, but Amy and I are looking around just in case,” Ariel said.

“How do you know?” The Doctor wondered.

“For starters, the building is deserted. Nobody would notice if she was taken from here. Also, there was writing on the walls. ‘Get out’. ‘Leave now’, and I think I saw a ‘leave me alone’ on the way up to the rooms. Plus, the bloke that owns the place has had his memory wiped too many times. He’s just lost it. He thinks it’s 1966,” Ariel explained.

“Repeated memory wipes fry your head eventually,” the Doctor nodded. “Find out what you can, but don't hang around.”

“Got it,” Ariel mumbled as she walked through the room to the bed. “How’s Apollo 11 going? Cause a paradox by meeting Neil Armstrong yet?” She smirked.

“Narrowly avoided it,” the Doctor chuckled. He paused and sat up as he seemed to be noticing something. “Got to go. Got company.”

“Okay,” Ariel smiled. “Try not to get into too much trouble while I’m here.”

“No promises,” the Doctor grinned before hanging up on her.

She sighed softly and put her phone back in her pocket as she spun around. She looked up at the ceiling but there was nothing in that room.

She turned back to walk out and as she opened the door she spotted Amy seeming to start to leave as well. She smirked at the redhead and was about to walk over when the door slammed shut randomly.

Ariel’s face fell and she ran to the door, fighting desperately to twist the knob against what seemed like an iron grip holding her back. “Amy? Amy!” Ariel cried.

She began to pull against the door furiously when she spotted her wrist. There were five tally marks penned across them.

Her breath came in shaky, sharp gasps as she backed away and stared at her wrist.

She spun around and her eyes raked the corridor trying to spot the creatures but she could find nothing.

That was, until she looked down at her other wrist and found three sets of five tally marks on her skin.

Ariel’s eyes inflated and she darted down the corridor, her heart thudding in her ears as she looked for a way out.

Ariel heard a sharp scream from Amy’s bedroom and knew she had to get inside.

She took one last glance down the corridor before running into the bedroom beside Amy’s, not noticing the five extra tally marks that appeared on her skin as she ran inside.

She slammed the door shut behind her hoping that would keep the creatures at bay as she ran to the toilets connecting her room to Amy’s. Just as she was about to turn the doorknob, she noticed her hand flashing bright red.

All she could hear was her shaky breathing as she lifted her hand up and listened to the nanorecorder.

“Run. Just run! They’re everywhere! They’ve noticed us and they won’t stop, get out!” Her recording yelled.

Ariel couldn’t breathe as she spun around and furiously jiggled the doorknob to try and get inside, but the door was jammed.

Ariel groaned loudly in frustration and jumped back just as she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked down and spotted three pale fingers on her coat.

Ariel screamed and jumped back only to find three of the aliens surrounding her.

She closed her eyes and did the only thing she could. She screamed as loud as possible so that everyone could hear as the aliens took her.

~~~

Ariel woke up with a sharp grasp then a groan at the dull ache in her head. She didn’t know where she was yet, but she already knew that these creatures had been altering her memory. 

She knew because the ache in her head was familiar. The same she’d had before when her memory was tampered with far too much in a lengthy period of time.

She opened her eyes and glanced around at her surroundings. It looked like the room she, River and Rory had all discovered when looking through the tunnels. She couldn’t see any of the aliens yet but she knew they had brought her there.

She glanced down and rolled her eyes at her state. 

Her hands and legs were strapped down to some sort of metal stretcher, but her hand was bandaged. 

“Damn,” she mumbled. It was the hand with her nanorecorder. 

She glanced up and jumped when she spotted one of the creatures. 

“What are you doing?” Ariel frowned. “Why did you bring me here?”

“We did not just bring you,” the creature hissed.

“How do you mean?” Ariel asked. “What was I just the tagalong?”

The creature backed away and revealed a very upset looking Amy trying to pull out of her bonds as another one of the creatures spoke to her.

“No, no, no, no,” Ariel shook her head. “Let her go!” She cried. “She’s got nothing to do with this.”

“She’s at the centre of it all,” the creature retorted. “She will bring the silence.”

“What’s that mean?” Ariel demanded. “What silence? What’s going to happen?”

“You still have a part to play as well,” the creature informed her. “You will be the one to destroy the Doctor. The one to force him to the silence.”

“I would never hurt the Doctor. I saw what happened to him and I had nothing to do with that,” Ariel insisted. “I wasn’t the astronaut on the beach.”

“The Hybrid cannot survive without its other half, this much is known,” the creature stated simply.

“If you’re gonna talk in rhymes I have much better things I could be doing,” Ariel muttered, pulling at the restraints. “Like getting the bloody hell out of here,” she snapped.

Just as she said that, it was as though the Doctor heard her because a loud wheezing filled the room. 

“And there’s my ride,” Ariel smirked. She turned back to the creature and head butted it.

The Tardis door creaked open and Ariel beamed at the sight of the Doctor.

“Oh, interesting,” the Doctor remarked. “Very Aickman Road. I've seen one of these before. Abandoned. I wonder how that happened? Oh, well I suppose I'm about to find out,” he sighed. “Rory, River, keep one Silent in eyeshot at all times,” he mumbled to the pair stepping out on either side of him. “Oh, hello,” he greeted with large eyes as he spotted the various creatures in the room eyeing him. “I’m looking for my wife. Have you seen her? I sort of need to find her, see, I’m quite rubbish without her,” he shrugged.

“Husband!” Ariel exclaimed with a large grin.

The Doctor turned with wide eyes and beamed at the sight of Ariel. “Wife!” He cried. “Hold on, I’m going to get you out of there,” he promised as he walked over. “Oh, hello, Amy. Are you all right?” He prompted, raising a brow at the redhead as he spotted her.

“Been better,” Amy shrugged.

“Ah,” the Doctor nodded as the creatures began marching up to him. “Sorry, you were in the middle of something. I just had to say, though, have you seen what's on the telly?” He prompted. He turned and nodded to River and the woman headed into the Tardis. When she walked out she had a small television in her hands. She dropped it right at the centre of the room and flicked it on where the Moon launch was broadcasting live. 

“Want to watch some television?” The Doctor smirked and his face fell when they began marching toward him. He pulled out his screwdriver and held it up as though it were an amiable threat. “Ah. Now, stay where you are. Because look at me, I'm confident. You want to watch that, me, when I'm confident,” he smirked. “Oh, and this is my friend River. Nice hair, clever, has her own gun, and unlike me, she really doesn't mind shooting people,” he warned. “Now, I don’t know about me, but she’ll definitely kill at least the first three of you if you don’t let her go,” he said, jabbing his thumb towards Ariel.

Ariel grinned and glanced over at River. “Really?” She prompted.

“Well, the first seven, easily,” River shrugged.

“Seven?” The Doctor gasped. “Really?”

“Oh, eight for you, honey,” River smirked.

“Stop it,” the Doctor chortled.

“Make me,” River grinned.

“Is this really important flirting?” Amy frowned. “Because I feel like we should be higher on the list right now,” she said, nodding to herself and Ariel who just laughed.

“Yes. Right. Sorry. As I was saying, my friend here is going to kill the first three of you to attack, plus him behind, so maybe you want to draw lots or have a quiz,” the Doctor implored. “Or maybe you could just listen a minute. Because all I really want to do is accept your total surrender and then I'll let you go in peace. Yes, you've been interfering in human history for thousands of years. Yes, people have suffered and died, but what's the point in two hearts, if you can't be a bit forgiving, now and then? Ooo, the Silence. You guys take that seriously, don't you? Okay, you got me. I'm lying. I'm not really going to let you go that easily. Nice thought, but it's not Christmas. First, Ariel,” the Doctor said, spinning around to the brunette.

She grinned as he walked over and helped her out of her restraints.

“Have you got a plan?” Ariel murmured.

“Oh, you’ll love it,” the Doctor hummed. He helped her down and turned back to the creatures. “Now, you tell me about the girl. Who is she? Why is she important? What's she for?” The Doctor prompted, but the creature remained silent as Rory ran up to Amy and began helping her out of her restraints. “Ariel, the antennae,” the Doctor whispered.

Ariel nodded and pulled the two antennae in the small television up before turning it on just as the feed went straight to a live broadcast from the Moon.

“Guys, sorry, but you're way out of time,” the Doctor sighed. “Now, come on,” he smiled, pulling Ariel to his side and wrapping his arm around her shoulders. “A bit of history for you. Aren't you proud? Because you helped. Now, do you know how many people are watching this live on the telly? Half a billion. And that's nothing, because the human race will spread out among the stars. You just watch them fly. Billions and billions of them, for billions and billions of years, and every single one of them at some point in their lives, will look back at this man, taking that very first step, and they will never, ever forget it,” he hummed.

“ Oh, but don’t forget this bit,” he mumbled. The Doctor pulled out a mobile and tossed a wink to Ariel before dialling. “Ready?” He prompted.

Ariel assumed the voice on the other end, likely Canton, said ready because the Doctor rang off and turned to the screen with a large grin.

“What are you doing?” Ariel asked. 

“Just watch,” the Doctor smiled. “You’re going to enjoy this,” he assured her.

“That’s one small step for man,” Neil began from the Moon.

All of a sudden, the image flickered and one of the creatures appeared on the black and white screen. “You should kill us all on sight,” the creature hissed.

Ariel’s eyes inflated as she watched the clip play on a loop. “Oh, my God,” she gasped and the Doctor laughed. “You did it. You actually did it.”

“One giant leap for mankind,” Neil finished and Ariel couldn’t help but let out a victorious laugh.

“And one whacking great kick up the backside for the Silence!” The Doctor exclaimed. “You just raised an army against yourself and now, for a thousand generations, you're going to be ordering them to destroy you every day. How fast can you run? Because today's the day the human race throw you off their planet. They won't even know they're doing it. I think, quite possibly, the word you're looking for right now is oops,” he offered with a grin, which promptly fell when he saw the Silence readying an attack. “Run!” He cried. “Guys, I mean us. Run!”

The Silence all began producing electric shocks sparking across the room, but hardly any of them ran. 

Rory remained beside Amy trying to undo her restraints and River started shooting every Silent she spotted.

The Doctor tossed Ariel his sonic and she ran to help Rory free Amy from her restraints. 

After she did so, she tossed the Doctor’s sonic back to him and she and Rory helped Amy back into the Tardis. 

As soon as they got inside, Ariel ran up into the scanner and keyed in the right controls so she could get a look at the exterior cameras.

River and the Doctor were destroyed the Silence’s power so they couldn’t do anything once they were gone.

It was only a few snarky remarks from River before the Doctor rushed inside the Tardis and smirked at the sight of Ariel watching them.

“Spying?” He prompted.

Ariel spun around and grinned at him. “Of course,” she chuckled.

The Doctor smiled and wrapped his arms around her waist before pressing a gentle kiss to her lips.

“We haven’t really gotten much time together since the honeymoon, have we?” The Doctor realized with a small frown.

“Mm,” Ariel nodded. “I’m sure you can find some way to make it up to me,” she smirked.

The Doctor grinned knowingly down at her and momentarily rested her forehead against hers before sucking in a slow yet shallow breath and turning back to Rory and Amy. 

“Rory, make sure River brings us back to the Oval Office,” he instructed. 

“Will do,” Rory smiled, chuckling softly as he watched the Doctor wrap his arms around Ariel’s and kiss her neck making her giggle delightfully as they headed up the stairs.

~~~

After saying their goodbyes to Canton and Nixon, the Doctor and Ariel dropped River off at the stormcage.

Amy and Rory had already gone off to bed and Ariel had hardly bothered to get fully dressed, swapping her ordinary clothes for a large jumper and some quickly pulled on shorts to say goodbye to River.

“You could come with us,” the Doctor offered with a shrug. 

“It’d be fun,” Ariel agreed with a nod.

“I escape often enough, thank you,” River smiled. “And I have a promise to live up to. You'll understand soon enough,” she promised. 

“Okay. Up to you,” the Doctor nodded, heading away and back to Ariel with a grin. “See you next time. Call me.”

Ariel giggled and started to head back into the Tardis when River called them both back.

“What, that's it?” River scoffed. “What's the matter with the pair of you?”

“Have I forgotten something?” The Doctor frowned.

“Oh, shut up,” River chuckled. She pulled him down by his coat and Ariel’s eyes inflated as she crushed his lips against her own.

The Doctor seemed as startled as she was because rather than embrace the kiss, his arms flew out on either side of him in utter shock and his eyes remained open the entire time.

River pulled away and smiled at them. “Right, goodbye, my love,” she said, turning her attention to Ariel who took a step back.

“No, no, I’m good,” Ariel nodded, unsure if she should actually kiss River. 

Up until that moment, Ariel and the Doctor had saved kissing for each other and River always respected that. What changed?

“What's wrong?” River frowned at the pair of them. “You're acting like we've never done that before.”

“We haven’t,” the Doctor gasped, startled that she had actually reached a point where they had done that.

“We haven’t?” River echoed with wide, almost horrified eyes. 

“Not once,” Ariel murmured, still unable to process what she had just witnessed.

“Oh, look at the time,” the Doctor said, clearing his throat anxiously as he stared down at his golden watch. “Must be off. But it was very nice. It was, it was good. It was er, unexpected. You know what they say. There's a first time for everything,” he shrugged,

Ariel nodded warily as he wrapped his arm around her and they both headed back into the Tardis.

They missed as River stared at the Tardis with worn down eyes, seeming in mourning of what she had just lost. “And a last time,” she mumbled.


	6. A Ship Called Fancy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First things first; I added an extra goodbye to River on the last chapter so if you haven't read that and want to, it's at the very end.
> 
> Now, I'm going to try to get onto a regular update schedule with my stories since I have a lot of works in progress that I want to write so I will be updating this story every Monday from now until completion

The four of them spent the next three weeks traveling together to various destinations.

In Hawaii, they met Professor Saurian, a reptilian scientist whose planet was facing an Ice Age, intended to make Earth his new home by unleashing Tyrannosaurus rexes across the world and triggering every volcano on Earth to erupt. The Doctor defeated his plans and saved Earth, but Saurian escaped.

Aboard a mining rig in the 367th century, they all helped Karan Marshall defeat a Mercurian energy beast.

After those trips together, Ariel and the Doctor shared some trips of their own.

They visited the sixteenth century where they finally met Anne Boleyn and wound up having to work with her to stop a group of Weeping Angels.

The Doctor took Ariel to see the Festival of Lights where they accidentally stumbled across an interplanetary war and hence became prisoners of war which Ariel wound up saving them both from by flirting with their guards to the Doctor’s displeasure.

They went to see Beethoven only to save him from a rogue batch of Zygons in an orchestra he planned to work with. As a thanks for their help, he taught Ariel to play piano almost perfectly.

Afterwards, they had a free night and the Doctor managed to teach Ariel to fly a bit more of the Tardis and a bit more Gallifreyan.

That next Saturday, they received a distress signal from a pirate ship called _Fancy_ in the seventeenth century.

The Doctor was all too happy to climb on board. They exited the Tardis onto the lower decks and frowned at the dark and dirty atmosphere.

“Where are we?” Rory asked, narrowing his eyes as he tried to see in the deck.

“Lower decks, I’m guessing,” the Doctor mumbled. “But it’s no matter,’ he shrugged. “We just need to get on the upper decks.”

“And how are we supposed to do that?” Amy wondered.

“There’s a hatch here,” Ariel called as she found a wooden hatch where moonlight was creeping through. “If I can just get it open,” she muttered as she tried shoving the hatch, but to no avail.

“Here, let me help,” the Doctor offered. He walked over and together the pair of them shoved the hatch until it swung open revealing five pirates glaring at them, one of which had their gun raised to the group.

“Yo ho ho!” The Doctor exclaimed and Ariel snorted when not a single one of the pirates seemed amused. “Or does nobody actually say that?” He winced.

“Who are you and how did you get aboard this ship?” The man holding the gun demanded.

“Ah, not one for pleasant greetings, I see,” Ariel remarked.

“Yes, of course,” the Doctor mumbled. “I’m the Doctor, this is Ariel,” he said, nodding to his wife by his side.

“Hi,” Ariel smiled and waved anxiously as she was still staring down the barrel of a gun.

“And this is Amy and Rory,” he said, waving to the couple.

“Hello,” Amy waved.

“Hi,” Rory said awkwardly.

“What are you doing here?” One of the pirates wondered.

“And how did you get aboard?” The man holding the gun demanded. “We are upon still waters. No ship could make this voyage.”

“Ah, except my ship!” The Doctor proclaimed proudly as he jumped up onto the deck. He helped Ariel up and while she turned to help Amy and Rory, he spun back to the pirates and found the gun had followed him up and was now pressed against his forehead. “Ah, guns,” the Doctor sighed. “Never really was a big fan of guns. Mind putting that away?” He prompted.

“Not until you explain how and why you have boarded my vessel,” the man snapped.

“Your ship?” Amy frowned as Ariel helped her up.

“Ah, you must be Captain Henry Avery,” Ariel grinned. “Quite an interesting story there,” she remarked.

“How do you know my name?” Henry demanded.

Ariel winced. “Right,” she muttered. “Er, I should really learn how to speak quieter,” she mumbled. “Never mind that, I’ve just-I’ve heard about you back in London,” she shrugged. “Quite the unpopular one back there,” she said.

Henry seemed to accept this excuse because he nodded and turned his attention back to the Doctor.

“I don’t see any ship in the waters,” Henry said. “How exactly did you come across my ship?” He wondered.

“Er, see, that’s the thing,” the Doctor muttered. “My ship sort of boarded your ship. We picked up your distress signal and came to help,” he smiled as though that should be reason to forgive the fact he just landed on the ship without permission.

“Where on the vessel is this ship of yours?” Henry frowned, beginning to lower his gun, finally.

“On the lower decks,” the Doctor responded. “I can show you if you-.”

“No!” Henry snapped, raising his gun again and making the Doctor freeze in his tracks. “Dancer, go check below decks. If there’s any sign of a vessel, report back,” he ordered.

“Yes, Captain,” one of the men nodded.

“His name is Dancer?” Ariel chortled. “That’s fantastic,” she giggled.

“It really is,” the Doctor smiled and nodded. “He should take up dancing. Not being a pirate,” he muttered. “That’s an utterly rubbish use of a fantastic name,” he sighed.

“Never mind the sailor,” Henry snapped. “You’ll follow me to my cabin. All of you. Immediately.”

They all shared apprehensive looks but nodded nonetheless and walked behind him as though they were children being lead around by a parent.

“Now,” Henry sighed once they walked inside. He placed his gun on his desk and turned around to face the group. “You said your ship picked up a distress signal?” He repeated with a small frown.

“Yep, that’s it,” the Doctor nodded.

“We made no signal,” Henry shook his head and the Doctor’s face fell.

“Er, sorry?” He prompted.

“Eight days we’ve been stranded here,” Henry sighed. “But no signal had been released.”

“Right then, er, our sensors picked you up,” the Doctor explained with a shrug. “Ship in distress.”

Ariel’s eyes widened and she turned to look at him so quickly, she’d be worried about whiplash if she didn’t have greater concerns at the moment.

Did the Doctor just forget what time period they were in?

“Sensors?” Henry repeated with a frown.

The Doctor began to open his mouth and Ariel tugged on his coat furiously to stop him. “Doctor,” Ariel hissed. “1600’s?” She reminded him with a raised brow and he paled.

“Ah, yes,” the Doctor hummed. “Okay, problem word,” he realized with a nod. “Seventeenth century. My ship automatically, er, noticed-ish that your ship was having some bother,” he explained with an awkward shrug.

“Captain!” Dancer exclaimed, rushing back into the room. “The only thing different in the lower decks is a large blue crate marked police.”

“That would be her,” the Doctor grinned.

“That big blue crate?” Henry frowned.

The Doctor nodded, but a man standing beside the Captain seemed to think they were nothing more than filthy liars.

“That is more magic, Captain Avery,” the man murmured. “They're spirits. How else would they have found their way below decks?” He implored.

“Well, er, I want to say multidimensional engineering, but since you had a problem with sensors, I won't go there,” the Doctor mumboled and Ariel poorly concealed her snort of amusement. “Look, I'm the Doctor. This is Ariel, Amy, and Rory,” he said, introducing them again. “We're sailors!” He exclaimed with a large grin. “Same as you,” he shrugged, He turned to Ariel and smirked as he began imitating pirates. “Ooo ar,” he said and Ariel laughed.

However, her smile fell when Henry raised his gun.

“Oh, there it is again,” Ariel moaned.

The Doctor turned and his eyes widened at the sight of the gun being pressed against his forehead. “Except for the gun thing,” he sighed. “And the beardiness,” he said, narrowing his eyes at Henry’s curly grey beard.

“You're stowaways,” Henry snapped. “Only explanation. Eight days, we've been stranded here, becalmed. You must have stowed away before we sailed.”

“Now what do we do with ‘em?” The man beside Henry implored in a murmur.

“Oh, I think they deserve our hospitality,” Henry smirked and Ariel winced at the sight.

“Why don’t I think that means we’ll be getting nice snacks and a place to sleep?” Ariel sighed.

~~~

The Doctor stood up on the plank as the pirates laughed and held Ariel, Rory and Amy all back from running to save him.

“Oh,” Ariel muttered bitterly. “That’s why?”

The pirates then proceeded to laugh even harder in their expense.

“I suppose that laughing like that is in the job description,” the Doctor huffed. “Can you do the laugh? Check. Grab yourself a parrot. Welcome aboard,” he groaned.

“Stocks are low. Only one barrel of water remains. We don't need four more empty bellies to fill,” Henry snapped. “Take the doxies below to the galley. Set them to work. They won't need much feeding,” he ordered his crew and two men grabbed Ariel and Amy, dragging them down to the hatch that lead to the lower decks.

“Hey, oi!” Ariel snapped, pulling her hand out of the pirate’s grasp. “Get off!”

“Rory? A little help?” Amy prompted with a raised brow.

“Doctor!” Ariel shrieked as the pirate trying to drag her away wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her up to carry down to the lower decks.

“Yeah. Hey, listen, right? They’re not doxies,” Rory muttered.

“I didn't mean just tell him off. Thanks anyway,” Amy huffed.

“Ow! Put me down!” Ariel hollered.

“Oi!” The Doctor snapped, marching back up the plank only to be met with three guns aimed straight at him. “Leave her be!” He ordered. “Ariel?!”

“OW!” Ariel shouted as she and Amy were tossed below decks like spare luggage.

“She’s our concern now,” Henry hummed. “Now walk back up the blank or you will be greeting what’s on the other end of this gun before you have a chance to swim away.”

“If you hurt her, you’ll be wishing the only threat you faced was starvation and that is a promise,” the Doctor threatened.

Meanwhile, below decks, Amy helped Ariel to her feet and glanced around the area with a small frown.

“Do you reckon the Doctor would be upset if we just took the Tardis?” Amy sighed.

“We’re not leaving,” Ariel mumbled, rubbing the back of her head where she had hit the floor with a small frown.

“No, I know that,” Amy nodded. “I just don’t see many other options at the moment.”

Ariel spotted a small crate to her left and smirked. “It may not be over yet,” she assured the redhead.

She rushed up to the crate and with a small fight, pried it open and revealed dozens of cutlasses ready for the taking. “Now we’re talking,” she chuckled.

Amy walked over and her eyes widened at the sight. “Why would they leave them all in some box down here?” Amy wondered.

“Does it matter?” Ariel shrugged as she pulled out two cutlasses and tossed one to Amy. She caught sight of two pirate outfits hanging on seperate hooks and grabbed them with a smirk. “Ready to play pirate today, Amelia Pond?”

Amy caught the outfit and stared at it in utter shock for a moment before a smile fell upon her lips.

“This is going to be good,” Amy chuckled.

“That’s my girl,” Ariel grinned. “Now, come on,” she sighed as she placed Amy’s pirate hat on her head. “We’ve got to save our boys.”

Amy grinned and they began pulling on the pirate outfits. Meanwhile, above deck, the Doctor was still on the plank, stalling as he plugged his nose and looked around at the crew.

“Where are the rest of the crew?” He wondered. This is a big ship. Big for five of you. I suppose the rest of them are hiding some place, and they're going to jump out and shout boo!” He exclaimed.

As if on cue, two voices shouted in unison, “boo!”

On the Doctor’s left, Amy was grinning at the pirates, aiming her sword at them donning a pirate coat and hat over her clothes.

To his right, Ariel stood on the other side in similar attire, pointing her cutlass at the group and glaring at the men as she smiled.

The pirates all had their hands raised in surrender and it was actually quite amusing to see such strong pirates terrified of two women with swords.

“Throw the gun down,” Amy commanded and Henry immediately complied, tossing his gun to the ground where she kicked it out of reach.

“All of you,” Ariel snapped and the men all dropped their guns for Ariel to kick away.

“Now, on your knees,” Amy snapped and slowly the men began to comply.

“Huh, that was easier than I thought,” Ariel murmured.

“Ariel, what are you doing?” The Doctor frowned.

“Saving your life,” Ariel smiled. “Okay, with that, are you?” She prompted and Amy laughed.

“Put down the swords,” Henry instructed the pair of them. “A sword could kill us all.”

“I’d have thought that was obvious,” Ariel chuckled, rolling her eyes at the captain.

“Yeah, thanks,” Amy chortled. “That is actually why we’re pointing them at you,” she reminded him.

Two of the pirates picked up wooden staves and chose to pick fights with the girls, in which they immediately fought back.

The Doctor tried to jump to help Ariel, but Henry held him back and as he looked over at her, he could see she likely had it handled on her own.

Even as another pirate ganged up on her and fought her, two to one.

She sliced the wooden stave of the pirate to her left and when he tried to jab her in the chest with it, she kicked him in the stomach and forced him to the ground.

With the other pirate, she kicked him backwards a few steps before knocking him over the head with the butt of her sword. She managed to steal his wooden stave as he was blindsided and she broke it over her knee before flashing a victorious grin at the man.

“Ha ha!” Ariel exclaimed and the Doctor laughed, beaming in pride.

It was safe to say, watching his wife become a pirate and defeat not one but two experienced pirates when he knew she had never held a sword a day in her life, was extremely attractive.

Ariel whirled around her sword victoriously while Amy climbed up onto a rope and flew a fet feet to another set of barrels, giving one of the pirates a small cut as she did so.

Dancer stared at his hand with large eyes as though it had been chopped off rather than a tiny cut. “You have killed me,” Dancer gasped.

“Sorry, what?” Ariel scoffed.

“No way,” Amy rolled her eyes. “It’s just a cut.”

They all seemed completely terrified and Ariel groaned softly as she leant on one of the barrels. “Well, this is no fun at all,” Ariel mumbled.

“Yeah, what kind of rubbish pirates are you?” Amy huffed.

“One drop, that's all it takes,” Henry gasped. “One drop of blood and she'll rise out of the ocean.”

“Okay, Shakespeare,” Ariel muttered, rolling her eyes at the man as she thought he was spouting some ancient pirate folklore.

“Come on, I barely even scratched him,” Amy moaned. “What are you all in such a huff about?”

She took another swing on the rope and the pirate she had been fighting grabbed her. Her sword fell out of her hands and cut Rory accidentally.

“Oi, leave her be!” Ariel snapped. She kicked at the pirate and pointed her sword at him, making him stumble away while Rory clutched his cut hand and groaned.

“Ow! Argh!” He cried.

Suddenly, his face fell and he turned to the trio with large eyes. “Er, what’s happening to me?” He asked, pointing to a perfect black spot on his hand.

“She can smell the blood on your skin,” Henry sighed. “She's marked you for death.”

“Wait, that’s actually real?” Ariel said with wide eyes, walking back to Rory and peering at the black spot.

“She is as real as the danger we face each night,” Henry nodded.

“She?” Rory frowned.

“A demon, out there in the ocean,” Henry mumbled, nodding to the calm waves beside them.

“Okay. Groovy,” the Doctor chuckled, walking over and taking a look at the black spot as well. “So not just pirates today. We've managed to bagsy a ship where there's a demon popping in. Very efficient. I mean, if something's going to kill you, it's nice that it drops you a note to remind you,” he smirked.

“Yeah, not so efficient for Rory though,” Ariel muttered when she spied his deathly pale face at the idea that he was being told he was going to die for a cut.

“Oh,” the Doctor winced as he realized he was being rude again. “Right. Sorry, Rory,” he said, clapping the man on the shoulder.

All of a sudden, some wordless song began rolling through the boat.

“Quickly now, block out the sound,” one of the pirates snapped.

“What?” Rory frowned.

“Why?” Ariel wondered.

“The creature,” Henry explained. “She charms all her victims with that song.”

“Oh, great,” Rory scoffed, rolling his eyes at the man. “So put my fingers in my ears, that's your plan?” He prompted. “Doctor, come on. Let's go. Let's get back to the er, back to the er,” he stammered, swaying on his feet as the song began to ensnare his senses.

“It’s just like the old Greek myth,” Ariel murmured as she watched Rory and Dancer giggle like schoolchildren. “The Siren’s song. I read about it in the library. The _Adventures of Ulysses_ , but Siren’s shouldn’t be haunting only one boat in the middle of the ocean,” she frowned.

However, as Dancer and Rory began swaying and giggling together, she was proven otherwise.

“The music. It's working on him,” one of the pirates gasped. “Look.”

Rory fell onto Amy, beaming at her while she narrowed her eyes at the man. “You are _so_ beautiful.”

“What?” Amy frowned, unsure if she should laugh or worry about Rory.

“I love your get up,” Rory smirked. “That's great. You should dress as a pirate more often,” he hummed. “Hey, hey, cuddle me, shipmate,” he mumbled, wrapping his arms around Amy tightly.

“Okay, maybe I’m wrong,” Ariel muttered.

“Rory, stop,” Amy snapped, trying to push him away.

“Everything is totally brilliant, isn't it?” Rory chuckled. “Look at these brilliant pirates. Look at their brilliant beards. I'd like a beard. I'm going to grow a beard,” he mumbled.

“No, you’re not,” Amy shook her head automatically.

“The music turns them into fools,” Henry sighed.

“Oh, my God,” Amy gasped, watching something in the distance.

They all turned with wide eyes to find a bright blue shining spot in the seas where the mist rolling over the water seemed to be traveling upward. Suddenly, a female figure flew up and gently landed on the deck. She had dark hair, falling in waves over her cool green skin. She was undeniably gorgeous and perhaps that simply helped her victims make utter fools of themselves in the hopes of being killed by her.

As Dancer marched up towards her, Amy fought to hold Rory back. When Dancer touched her finger, he exploded in a cloud of soot and Ariel let out a small yelp in surprise, jumping back as she watched the Siren maintain a steady shade of cool green as she continued her song after just having murdered a man.

“I have to touch her,” Rory gasped, pushing against Amy’s hold on him. “Let me touch her.”

Amy pushed Rory behind her and narrowed her eyes at the Siren. “Sorry, but he is spoken for,” Amy snapped.

The Siren did not enjoy that sentiment one bit. She hissed at Amy, turning bright red as she shot out a blast of energy that threw Amy through the air and onto the ground roughly.

“Amy!” the Doctor cried, running over to help the redhead to her feet. “Everyone into the hold now!” He ordered the crew, waving furiously toward the hatch they needed to drop through.

The crew followed his commands without question, each of them climbing over each other to get away from the Siren after seeing what she had done to Dancer.

As the Doctor helped Amy to her feet, Rory, unguarded by anybody, began stumbling towards the Siren, extending his hand as though desperate to be murdered by her.

“Rory! Come on!” the Doctor hollered.

“I got him!” Ariel yelled. She dropped her sword to the ground, knowing if she brought it down into the hold she would just risk claiming lives.

She then bolted towards Rory and used all her strength to tear the man away from his obsession with the Siren.

“She’s so beautiful,” Rory sighed.

“Yep, come on, Superstar,” Ariel groaned, tugging the man away.

“Hey! Wait!” Rory cried, uncertain of why Ariel would want to pull him away from his death.

“No likely,” Ariel huffed.

She made her way to the hatch and watched as the Doctor climbed down just before her.

“Doctor,” Ariel said and her husband turned to her.

She shoved Rory down into the hold before he could go bolting towards the Siren and the doctor caught him so he didn’t fall. She then dropped down into the hold and closed the hatch tightly behind her.

There was still bilge water abo9ut a few inches deep and flooded with muck in the hold, but it was better to be stuck down there then with the murdering Siren just above them.

“What is that thing?” Amy gasped, voicing the very question on her mind.

Ariel nodded in silent agreement while the Doctor walked over and wrapped a steadying arm around her shoulders.

“You alright?” the Doctor murmured, pulling her close to his chest as though to try and calm her.

“Will be,” Ariel assured him and he nodded, pressing a kiss to her temple as he kept his arm around her in the hopes of calming her a bit.

“The legend,” Henry sighed. “The siren. Many a merchant ship laden with treasure has fallen prey to her. She's been hunting us ever since we were becalmed, picking off the injured,” he muttered.

“Like a shark,” one of the pirates, the Boatswain, mumbled. “A shark can smell blood.”

“Okay,” the Doctor sighed, raking his fingers through his hair as he thought through the situation logically. “Just like a shark, in a dress. And singing. And green? A green singing shark in an evening gown,” he said, the tone of surprise never slipping.

“The ship is cursed!” Henry cried.

“Oh, we’re really going with that explanation are we?” Ariel moaned. She hated when people claimed there were curses on certain things that terrified them. That just meant they were too scared not to look into what could actually be happening in more detail.

Cursed was just an excuse that often wound up getting people killed.

“Yeah, right,” the Doctor chuckled, unable to do much else but agree with her. “Cursed is big with humans. It means bad things are happening but you can't be bothered to find an explanation.”

“Or they’re too scared to find one,” Ariel suggested and the Doctor just nodded absentmindedly. “But nevertheless, whatever this Siren is, she’s real and she’s up there waiting to kill Rory for just a little scrape.”

“Right,” the Doctor nodded, retreating back into his thoughts so he could work through any creatures he had seen that might mirror the habits or appearance of this Siren.

“She's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen,” Rory gasped, practically tripping over himself as he stared at the closed hatch as though she were right before it waiting for him.

“Actually, I think you'll find she isn't,” Amy retorted, sounding none too pleased that her husband was openly fawning over some other woman before her.

“She is,” Rory insisted.

“Oh, when you get out of this you are _so_ in trouble,” Ariel laughed, already reading the fury on Amy’s face.

“We have to leave right now,” Amy snapped, desperate to snap her husband out of the trance so she could yell at him.

“How?” Ariel wondered, shrugging aimlessly at the redhead. She knew the Doctor wouldn’t want to permanently leave if the Siren really was something new.

“That crate of yours really is a ship?” Henry frowned, glancing back at the Doctor and raising a brow at the man.

“Well, it's not propelled by the wind,” the Doctor murmured, knowing that though the Tardis didn’t look like it to the pirates, it could most certainly get them all to safety.

“Show me,” Henry demanded, pulling out his gun once again and aiming it at the Doctor, making Ariel roll her eyes. “Weigh anchor. Make it sail.”

“Here we go again,” Ariel moaned.

“And the gun's back,” the Doctor huffed. “You're big on the gun thing, aren't you? Freud would say you're compensating,” he chuckled. “Ever met Freud? No? Comfy sofa,” he sighed, hanging his head back as though it were still on the sofa.

“He had a fountain thing that made me have to pee,” Ariel remembered with a wince.

“When did you two meet Freud?” Amy frowned.

“Long story,” Ariel shook her head. “There was this week where I just kept having nightmares. When I got worried, the Doctor took me to Freud,” she smiled.

“Leave the cursed one, Captain,” one of the pirates called De Florres, said. “The creature can have him.”

“Yes, please,” Rory gasped, extending his arms toward De Florres as though the pirate could carry him to the Siren.

“Oh, I don’t like you,” Ariel muttered, narrowing her eyes at De Florres.

“We don't want the siren coming after us,” Henry mumbled, dismissing the idea almost immediately. He knew, if anything, the presence of the four strangers presented him an opportunity to rid himself of the Siren once and for all and if they acted too fast, they would soon all succumb to the Siren’s song.

All of a sudden, sharp cries had them all turning to De Florres who was screaming as he jumped out of the water and revealed a small leech stuck to his leg.

“It’s a leech!” Amy cried.

“Everyone out of the water!” the Doctor yelled and they all jumped up so they were no longer standing in the water just a few inches tall.

Ariel sat upon a barrel and watched with wide eyes as De Florres tore the leech off him and dropped it in the water, only to reveal a small dash of blood across his leg.

“It’s bitten me,” he murmured. “I’m bleeding!” De Florres snapped, knowing his fate was already sealed with that small drop of blood prominent against his pale leg.

His eyes grew wide as he felt something in the palm of his hand and he spared it a single glance before turning his hand and revealing the perfect black spot in the centre of his palm.

“She wants blood,” the Doctor gasped. “Why does she want blood?” He frowned, unsure if he had met a creature before that would kill for the smallest drops of blood.

“Now, you’re the cursed one too, mate,” Ariel informed him, almost smirking at his comeuppance.

De Florres simply pouted as though he were a distraught child getting what he had coming all along.

“What were you saying about leaving the cursed ones behind?” Amy prompted with a raised brow, reminding him of how he had misspoken just moments prior.

“Nevertheless,” Ariel shook her head. “If she comes down here, we’re fucked,” she sighed.

“It's okay, we're safe down here,” the Doctor assured her with a nod. “No curse is getting through three solid inches of timber,” he promised.

Just after he said that, as though she had heard him speaking, the Siren rose up from the water with a deafening screech.

Ariel couldn’t help but let out a traitorous laugh as the Doctor flew backwards and eyed the Siren warily.

“Oh!” He exclaimed. “Ah. Hello again,” he muttered.

“You were saying?” Ariel chuckled and while the Doctor could not help the grin that fell across his lips.

“Ah, shut up,” he mumbled, casting a smirk back at her momentarily.

“Never,” Ariel giggled.

As the rest of the group began to scramble out, De Florres shoved past them and forced his way towards the Siren.

“No!” They all screamed furiously at him, but he was too entranced to listen.

As the Siren sang, De Florres stretched his hand out to reach her and with a single touch, he exploded into soot like Dancer, leaving only his hat behind.

Boatswain screamed at the sight and Ariel shielded her face in the Doctor’s chest.

He stopped momentarily to pick up De Florres’s hat before Ariel dragged him out on of the doors into what looked to be the mess deck.

“Safe?” Amy scoffed as the Doctor sonicked the door closed.

“That’s what I said,” Ariel chortled.

“Oh, I have my good days and my bad days,” the Doctor moaned.

“How did she get in?” Henry wondered.

The Doctor scanned De Florres’s hat and his eyes inflated at the readings and the memory of just how she materialized in the room. “Bilge water,” he sighed. “She's using water like a portal, a door. She can materialise through a single drop. We need to go somewhere with no water,” he said.

“Well, thank God we're not in the middle of the ocean,” Amy groaned, throwing her hands up in the air helplessly while Ariel chuckled in agreement.

“Did you see her eyes?” Rory smiled, looking directly at his wife as he talked about another woman. “Like crystal pools,” he sighed.

“You are in enough trouble,” Amy snapped, laughing softly as Rory tried to throw himself on her as though that may promise he got any closer to the Siren.

“Where can we go without any water?” Ariel wondered, refocusing her mind to the task at hand after taking a moment to watch Amy and Rory in amusement.

She felt bad for the redhead having to put up with her husband fawning over another woman while still having to save his life, but she knew if she and the Doctor were in that same circumstance neither of them would be reacting much differently.

“The magazine,” Henry gasped, his eyes brightening at the realization.

“What?” Amy frowned.

“He means the armoury where the powder's stored,” the Doctor explained with a nod as he placed the pirate hat on his head.

“It is safe?” Ariel implored, turning to Henry with a raised brow.

“It’s dry as a bone,” Henry offered with a shrug. He wouldn’t define it as safe, exactly, but it was as good a place as any.

“That’s about as good as we’re gonna get, I’m guessing,” Ariel sighed.

“Good,” the Doctor nodded. “Let's go there,” he said, marching ahead of the crew.

However, he was stopped in his tracks when Henry held up his gun once more and aimed it at the Doctor. “I give the orders,” Henry snapped.

The Doctor just smiled in the face of the barrel. “Ah. Worried because I'm wearing a hat now?” He guessed, marching forward with the knowledge that Captain Avery would not shoot him. At this point, pulling out his gun was nothing more than an empty threat. “Nobody touch anything sharp!” He called over his shoulder as he grabbed Ariel’s hand and rushed towards the magazine on the ship.

They reached the door, shut tight, and the Boatswain shuffled past them while pulling out a set of keys. He shuffled through the keys, staring at each just as confused as the last.

“Quickly, man,” Henry snapped.

Boatswain just stared at the keys with large eyes. “I can't find the key. Tis gone, Cap'n,” he mumbled.

“How can it have gone?” Henry gasped.

The Doctor tiptoed toward the door cautiously before pressing a steady hand to the door, shoving it open. “Someone else had the same idea,” he muttered.

They all walked inside the room, wary of their surroundings in the small area. Henry and the few pirates left had pulled out their guns as a precaution while some of the men slammed the door shut behind them.

“Barricade the door,” Henry ordered the men. Boatswain began pulling a lantern off a hook at the centre of the room and Henry placed a cautionary hand on his shoulder. “Careful of that lantern,” he instructed. “Every barrel is full of powder,” he reminded the man.

“Who else is in here?” Ariel murmured, scouring the small room for something that seemed out of place.

“Who's been sleeping in my gun room?” the Doctor hummed and Ariel held back her laughter with a small amused snort making the Doctor flash a smile down at her as though he had won a tiny victory with the sound of her elation.

A sharp cough answered his question and Henry marched over to one of the barrels. He flung the lid off and peeled out a small boy who appeared deathly pale as he met Henry’s anger with one of absolute terror. The fear only a child staring down the face of an angry parent could produce.

“You fool!” Henry roared. “You fool, boy,” he snapped. “What are you doing here?”

Ariel’s eyes widened. Her read on their emotions had been right. Henry knew the child but he was not a member of the crew. If he was, Henry would be asking why he was hiding out in the gunroom rather than calling him a fool. Still, Henry knew the child and the child most certainly knew him.

That meant, unless the child was dead-set on sneaking on board a pirate ship for a very friendly adult he knew, this boy was Henry’s son.

“Who is he?” Boatswain frowned.

“What, he's not one of the crew?” the Doctor implored with a raised brow.

“No,” Ariel mumbled. “He’s the Captain’s son,” she breathed and Henry froze. “I’m right, aren’t I? The kid is your son.”

“Yes,” Henry mumbled. “Toby,” he said, nodding to the child. “But what in God's name possessed you, boy?” He demanded, pulling the boy all the way out of the barrel and placing him on the ground by his side. “Your mother will be searching for you,” he reminded him.

Toby appeared crestfallen as he hung his head and refused to meet his father’s eyes.

“Oh, my God,” Ariel breathed, placing her hands over her mouth. She knew that look all too well and she knew that this little boy didn’t deserve to be wearing it so young. He had a life ahead of him and yet his mother had already passed and his father was a pirate. There wasn’t much else left for him now.

“When?” Henry gasped, knowing the look as well.

“Last winter,” Toby mumbled. “Fever. She told me all about you. How you were a Captain in the Navy,” he smiled, hope crossing away his mourning as he looked into his father’s stricken eyes. “An honourable man, she said. How I'd be proud to know you. I've come to join your crew,” he proclaimed, his back straightening as though he were ready to become a Naval officer so young.

“I don’t want you here,” Henry replied, shaking his head fiercely against the idea of having his son out at seas with him. He didn’t bother to comment on the fact that Toby’s mother had so obviously lied to save his son’s image of him.

While Ariel knew Toby was not supposed to be on board and Henry’s words were only meant to keep him safe, she could help but feel sorry for Toby when she watched his face fall at his father’s words. She knew what it was like to be cast out by the people you assume are there to show you nothing but love, and it hurt to see that reaction on Toby’s face.

“You can't send me back,” Toby muttered. “It's too late. We're a hundred miles from home,” he reminded his father.

“It's dangerous here,” Henry snapped. “There is a monster aboard. She leaves a mark on men's skin,” he warned his son.

Toby turned away with a small frown and Ariel began to grow worried. There was a strange look in Toby’s eyes. It almost seemed as though he knew about the mark the Siren left.

“The black spot?” Toby assumed.

They all turned to him with large eyes, obvious concern flickering through the group as Toby lifted up his hand and revealed a perfect black spot in the centre of his palm.

~~~

Henry took the time to inspect his son for marks or any sign of blood. Meanwhile, Amy and Rory were immersed in conversation about his own black spot and Ariel and the Doctor sat side by side on a row of barrels.

The couple sat as close as possible, Ariel resting her head on the Doctor’s shoulder as she stared off at the opposite wall, her gae not exactly focused as she sat.

“Have you ever wanted one?” the Doctor mumbled pulling Ariel closer to him as he watched Henry and Toby.

“A black spot?” Ariel guessed with a small smirk. “Not exactly,” she chuckled.

“No,” the Doctor smiled. “Not that. I mean, a kid,” he said, gesturing wildly toward Toby. “A child.”

“Doctor, you know I can’t-,” Ariel began, beginning to remind him that she was unable to have children.

“Oh, I know, I know,” the Doctor assured her with a nod. “I’m just curious. Have you ever wanted one regardless? Or before you knew you couldn’t have them?”

Ariel glanced up at him momentarily, trying to read into what he was suggesting. She gave up fairly quickly and rested her head back on his shoulder with a soft sigh.

“Sometimes,” Ariel confessed. “There were days, in fact there was a time, when I though I would just adopt and make things easier altogether. I could get a kid that had grown just past its baby years and I could be happy, but I dunno. I’d love for it to happen one day, but I think at this rate I’ve just given up hope,” she shrugged.

The Doctor nodded, silently accepting the answer.

“So, what do you think it is?” Ariel sighed.

“What?”

“Well, I know you have a theory,” Ariel shrugged. “The kid doesn’t have a single scratch on him, but the Siren still wants him, why?”

The Doctor paused for a moment before hanging his head, frustrated that he was being forced to deliberate why a child may be dying today. “It’s his fever,” he mumbled.

“She can sense that?” Ariel frowned.

“I suppose,” the Doctor shrugged. “She can sense any weakness in the people aboard and illness counts just as much as scrapes.”

“But why only the sick ones?” Ariel wondered. “She can lure anyone with her song. It’s one of the defining traits of Sirens. They can grant anyone visions of their greatest hopes, loves and desires so they won’t think they’re going to their deaths but rather to their own personal paradise. It’s why Rory keeps talking about how beautiful she is. Sirens could make anyone and everyone see them as drop dead gorgeous no matter gender or sexuality. Granted, that was when they were actually hideous mermaids and not pretty green ladies that fly up out of water,” Ariel conceded with a shrug

“So, why only prey on the wounded?” the Doctor murmured, more to himself as he voiced his own thoughts.

“Exactly,” Ariel nodded.

“Maybe, she’s wounded herself?” the Doctor proposed with a raised brow.

“No,” Ariel shook her head. “That would explain why she would want the strongest aboard, not the injured.”

“But the strongest could fight back,” the Doctor retorted.

“Not against her song they couldn’t,” Ariel chuckled. “Rory is one of the most loyal men I’ve ever met. Even when Amy cheated he didn’t leave her and yet that Siren sings a little bit and all of a sudden he’s head over heels?” She frowned. “If she wanted to get the strongest members on board she could do it just by opening her pretty little mouth and singing.”

“Right,” the Doctor nodded. “So, why waste time killing off the weakest? Does she want to leave only the strongest on board?”

“If she wanted that, what would be a reason,” Ariel frowned. “That would only allow them to get away from her faster and given the amount of effort she’s putting into this whole thing I’m guessing that’s not what she wants.”

“Then what does she want?” the Doctor sighed as Henry walked back over to them.

“There's nothing wrong with the boy,” Henry announced. “He has no scars.”

“Yep,” the Doctor nodded, already knowing that fact. He had moved on far past that idea long ago. “Ignore my last theory,” he said.

At Henry’s raised brow, all Ariel could do was shrug. “He has good days and he has bad days,” she muttered.

“It's not just blood, she's coming for all the sick and wounded, like a hunter chooses the weakest animal,” the Doctor explained.

At Henry’s confusion and still raised brow, Amy just huffed. “Okay, look, he's got a fever. The siren knows it,” she moaned.

“Humans,” the Doctor mumbled, smirking at he jostled Ariel in his arms. “Second-rate. Damage too easily. It's only a matter of time before everyone gets bruised,” he hummed.

Henry shot him a glare, appearing as though he was ready to tell him off for insulting humans when Ariel just rolled her eyes.

“Don’t worry about it,” Ariel sighed. “He likes to insult other species when he’s stressed.”

“That wasn’t an insult,” the Doctor frowned.

“Doctor, you called us second-rate,” Amy reminded him with a raised brow.

“He cuts himself shaving, he does half an hour on life forms he's cleverer than,” Ariel chuckled at the memory.

“My ship, it can sail us all away from here,” the Doctor sighed. “The three of us, we fetch it. Let's go,” he said, standing up and grabbing Ariel’s hand only to be met with the other end of Henry’s gun once again.

“You're not the Captain here, remember,” Henry said with a raised brow and the Doctor just rolled his eyes, pushing the gun out of his face with a sigh.

All of a sudden, Toby lifted up in of the barrels to reveal it filled to the brim with water. Before Ariel could should a warning, a light green hand stretched out from the water and reached for him.

The Doctor immediately bolted over and shoved the lid down forcefully.

“Don’t go near water,” Ariel gasped.

“The water's dangerous,” Henry told his son. “That's how she gets through. One touch of her hand and you're a dead man,” he said.

“We're all cursed if we stay aboard,” Boatswain muttered bitterly.

“Oh, again with the curse,” Ariel moaned.

“It's not a curse,” the Doctor snapped. “Curse means game over. Curse means we're helpless. We are _not_ helpless!” He yelled. “Captain, what's our next move?” He prompted.

Henry froze, completely astounded that the Doctor had considered referring to him for command. He glanced around at his crew and took a deep breath.

“You and I got to your ship. I shall see if the vessel truely can take us away from here,” Henry said.

“Right, just one correction,” the Doctor nodded. “Ariel goes with us,” he said and Ariel grinned at him.

“The doxy?” Henry frowned.

“First, that’s my wife,” the Doctor amended, holding up a single warning finger.

Henry paled and glanced over at Ariel who simply smiled and waved to the captain.

“Second, they should be safe here so long as they don’t go round any water and I’m sure Amy will be more than happy to take care of that,” the Doctor smiled, resting his hand on the shoulder of the redhead. He knew she’d rather die than allow the Siren to take her husband. “That being the case, Ariel comes with us or we don’t go,” he shrugged simply.

Henry eyed the Doctor and Ariel warily before eventually conceding with a nod. “Very well.”

He pulled off a necklace with a silver circular pendant and draped it around Toby’s neck. “Wait with the boy,” he instructed the two members left in his crew.

“Captain, we're all in danger here,” Boatswain gasped.

“I said, wait,” Henry snapped. “And barricade the door after we've gone,” he added.

“Sure you want to go?” Amy prompted the couple with a raised brow as the Doctor helped Ariel drop down from the barrel she was sat on.

“We have to get Rory and Toby away,” the Doctor shrugged. “She's out there now, licking her lips, boiling a saucepan, grating cheese,” he said.

“Maybe, not the best metaphor,” Ariel frowned and the Doctor sighed.

“It got away from me,” he mumbled, raking his hands through his hair.

“Okay,” Amy muttered. “Well, remember, if you get an itch, don't scratch too hard,” she advised, trying for a small smile.

“Blimey, death by Siren,” Ariel remarked.

“We've all got to go some time,” the Doctor sighed. “There are worse ways than having your face snogged off by a dodgy mermaid,” he chuckled, but his smile fell when he saw Ariel glaring at him. “Oh, come on, compared to the CyberKing?”

Ariel continued to eye him before she conceded into a smile. “She wasn’t all that bad looking if I’m honest,” she shrugged and the Doctor smiled.

“Ah, there we are,” he hummed.

Ariel giggled as he draped his arm over her shoulders and they headed outside with Captain Avery.

“Do you want to draw rocks for who’s in charge then?” Henry prompted, raising a brow at the couple.

“Darkness? Demon?” the Doctor scoffed. “You can have first go,” he shrugged, marching onward without a bother.

“Oh, relax,” Ariel chuckled, walking on ahead of the pair of them. “None of us are injured or ill, we’re fine,” she assured the men.

Just after she said that, she tripped on a floorboard and within a flash found herself inches away from falling on a protruding nail head.

Luckily, Captain Avery caught her just in time.

He helped her back to her feet and chuckled softly as he clapped her on eht shoulder. “Don’t speak so quickly on a ship such as this,” he sighed.

Ariel stared down at the nail with large eyes as the Doctor walked up to it. “Y’know,” she mumbled. “I’m really starting to think every time either one of us talks, we’re just jinxing ourselves,” she decided.

The Doctor laughed softly and wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Come on. We’re far from out of the woods.”

“Don’t I know it,” Ariel mumbled.

They headed back to the Tardis and Ariel opened the door with her key for them as the Doctor rushed inside, straight up to the console.

Ariel pulled her hair back and plopped down into the jumpseat, making herself comfortable as she did everytime she boarded while Henry was left gaping up at the Tardis alone.

“By all the-,” Henry gasped.

“Let me stop you there,” the Doctor interrupted, holding up a single impatient finger. “Bigger on the inside. Don't mind, do you, if we just skip to the end of that moment?” He shrugged and Ariel just laughed. “Oh, and sorry I lied, by the way, when I said yours was bigger. Kitchen that way. Choice of bathrooms there, there, there,” he said, pointing in three seperate directions across the Tardis.

Henry walked up to the console and peered around at the controls with a small, but curious frown.

“What’s this do?” He asked, pointing to a small device.

“That does very, very complicated,” the Doctor hummed. “That does sophisticated,” he said, ringing the bell on the console and making Ariel give a snort of amusement. “That does whoa, amazing, And that does whizz, bang, far too technical to explain!” He cried.

Ariel rolled her eyes and peered at the console. “That’s just a telescope,” she said, pointing to a small brass telescope on the console. “That shows us what direction we’re flying toward, and this marks where in the universe we are.”

“How?” Henry asked with a small frown.

“Through the stars,” Ariel shrugged. “The stars in different galaxies can show us where and when we are based on which ones are dying and which are being born.”

“Oh, thanks for that,” the Doctor moped, hanging his head over the console. “Now they’re just boring,” he huffed, hitting the compass in fury. “They’re just boring, boringness!” He snapped.

Ariel giggled. “I’m sorry, my love,” she mumbled. She stood up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek.

“How about this?” Henry asked, pointing to a small device on the console. “Is this the wheel?”

“Atom accelerator,” the Doctor corrected with a shake of his head.

“It steers the thing?” Henry presumed.

“No,” the Doctor frowned and Ariel raised an unconvinced brow. “Sort of,” he shrugged.

“Doctor,” Ariel implored.

“Oh, alright, yes,” the Doctor huffed.

“Wheel. Telescope. Astrolabe. Compass!” Henry exclaimed, pointing to each of the devices he had been shown in turn. He turned to meet Ariel and the Doctor’s blindsided expressions and simply shrugged. “A ship’s a ship.”

“Oh,” the Doctor breathed.

“Whoa,” Ariel gasped and Henry smirked at the pair.

“Okay, never mind that,” the Doctor shook his head. “We need to escape and this is how the professionals do it,” he smirked.

“Famous last words,” Ariel murmured.

“Oh, trust me,” the Doctor sighed. “It’s going to be fine.”

He pulled the lever and the time rotor stuttered making Ariel laugh. “I totally called it,” she giggled.

“Oh, you hush,” the Doctor moaned, only making Ariel laugh harder.

“What’s wrong?” She sighed, walking over and peering at what he had done to the Tardis this time.

“Er, it's stuck,” the Doctor frowned. He never did take it easily when Ariel and River were able to figure out things on his own Tardis easier than him. “Not responding.”

“Well, did you try adjusting the helmic regulator?” Ariel implored with a raised brow.

“Of course,” the Doctor huffed. “But it’s like it’s just stuck,” he muttered.

“Try fixing the space-time locator,” she said, moving to the small device on the console as she spoke. “She might just not know where she’s going.”

“No, that can’t be,” the Doctor insisted. “I plugged her in to go to the last planet we visited. She’s just- She’s-.”

“Becalmed?” Henry guessed with wide eyes.

“Mmm hmm,” the Doctor nodded as he and Ariel continued to try and fix the controls. “Yeah, apparently. That's new,” he sighed. He heard Henry chuckling softly beside him and rolled his eyes when he looked up and saw the old pirate beaming ear to ear. “You had to gloat, didn't you?” He muttered and Ariel snorted in amusement.

“I’m not gloating,” Henry insisted with a shake of his head.

“I saw that look just now,” the Doctor retorted, waving an annoyed finger at Henry. “Ha, ha, his ship is rubbish,” he sighed.

“True,” Henry shrugged.

Ariel laughed and shook her head. “If you two could stop comparing ships for a moment,” she giggled. “We have to try and get a lock on something,” she told the Doctor. “As soon as we can get her locked on the time or place, she can figure out how to get us out of here.”

“Right,” the Doctor nodded.

He and Ariel moved across the console to try and feed information to the Tardis piece by piece, but it seemed no matter what they did she rejected everything she was given.

She was a ship in the middle of quiet seas and she refused to move.

“It can't get a lock on the plane,” the Doctor muttered, clenching his jaw as he watched the Tardis throw yet another fit.

“Neither can I,” Ariel sighed, shaking her head forlornly.

“The what?” Henry frowned, eyeing the couple curiously.

“The space we travel in,” the Doctor responded coolly.

When Henry still looked confused, Ariel offered him a small smile. “It’s sort of like the ocean for you lot,” she supplemented.

“Sort of ocean but not water,” the Doctor agreed with a nod. “The Tardis can't see. It's sulking because it thinks the space doesn't exist. Without a plane to lock onto we're not going anywhere,” he sighed.

“I’m confused,” Henry mumbled.

Ariel snorted and shook her head, remembering how many times she had said that to the Doctor. “Join the club,” she nodded.

“Yeah, it’s a big club,” the Doctor sighed. “We should get t-shirts,” he suggested and Ariel laughed.

All of a sudden, there was a loud thud in the Tardis, then it sounded as though the time rotors were grinding, fighting to move with no information on where it was or where it was going.

“What’s happening?” the Doctor muttered.

“I don’t know!” Ariel exclaimed as the Tardis began rattling about. “Did you press something?!”

“No!” the Doctor yelled and the Tardis began whining, making his eyes grow wide. “Okay, she's had her little sulk. Now she's heading for the full-on screaming tantrum.”

Ariel was thrown backwards onto the floor while the Doctor and Henry clung desperately onto the console.

“Ariel!” the Doctor called. “Are you alright!”

“Fine,” Ariel moaned as she fought to stand up once again. “Ow,” she mumbled, rubbing the back of her head.

“Can either of you fix this?” Henry asked, glancing between the couple furiously.

“Argh!” the Doctor cried when nothing he did on the console worked. “The parametric engines are jammed. Orthogonal vector's gone. I'm almost out of ideas,” he sighed.

“Almost?” Henry prompted with a raised brow.

“Trust me,” Ariel said. “It’s not as promising as it sounds!”

“We could try stroking her and singing her a song,” the Doctor offered with a shrug.

“See?!” Ariel exclaimed.

“Does that help?” Henry frowned at the couple.

“Hard to say,” the Doctor muttered.

“It doesn’t,” Ariel sighed.

“Never has before,” the Doctor agreed with a shake of his head. “I've lost control of her.”

“Doctor!” Ariel cried. “If my Gallifreyan is right, she’s getting ready to dematerialize!”

“She doesn’t have coordinates or any idea where she’s going,” the Doctor mumbled with large eyes.

“Which means?” Henry prompted.

“We could end up anywhere!” the Doctor cried.

“That sounds bad!” Henry exclaimed.

“Yes, it is! Out! Out now! Abandon ship!” the Doctor yelled, waving Henry out of the Tardis towards the door. “Abandon ship!”

Henry ran outside and the Doctor waited for Ariel to run to him before grabbing her hand and running outside.

They turned to see the Tardis crying out as it disappeared.

“Well, there goes out ride,” Ariel sighed.

The Doctor sucked in a shallow breath and dropped her hand before raking his fingers through his hair. He began to pace back and forth in the hold.

“Okay, okay, okay,” the Doctor mumbled. “Tardis runs off on its own. That's a bit of a new one. Bang goes our only hope of getting them out of here,” he sighed, turning back to look at the place where the Tardis had disappeared.


	7. The Siren's Curse

They headed out onto the mess deck where one of the pirates, Mulligan, had two pistols trained on them as he donned all the jewels he could carry on his person as well as all the food they had left.

“Oh, this really is a pirate ship,” Ariel chuckled and the Doctor smiled and nodded.

“Mulligan, what are you doing?!” Henry exclaimed furiously. “This is mutiny!”

“She doesn't want me,” Mulligan gasped, glancing between the trio frantically. “She only wants Toby and the scrawny looking fellow.”

With that, he bolted out to one of the rowboats on the far end of the deck.

“He's got the last of the supplies,” the Doctor mumbled to Henry. “We should go after him.”

“Never mind the damned supplies!” Henry barked. “What about my treasure?!” He exclaimed.

“That too,” Ariel shrugged.

The three of them bolted after Mulligan only to have him begin shooting at them.

“Don’t get injured!” the Doctor cried. “Don’t get injured!”

The Doctor pulled Ariel down to keep her from getting injured while Henry ducked down. Mulligan hid in one of the nearby storerooms though whether it was to avoid getting injured by any of the trio or to steal whatever else he could, Ariel didn’t know.

As soon as Henry saw he was gone and not shooting at them, he jumped up and began banging on the door furiously.

“Come out of there, you mutinous dog!” Henry roared.

The Doctor and Ariel walked up to Henry hand in hand, but just as they approached the storeroom door, the Siren song began once again.

Ariel sucked in a sharp breath and all three of them checked for any sorts of injuries, but finding none they exchanged equally confused frowns. Ariel spotted a soft light growing brighter beneath the door and some muffled singing growing louder inside the room and her eyes inflated.

“There!” Ariel exclaimed, pointing towards a greenish light beneath the door.

“She’s inside,” the Doctor breathed, staring at the light with large eyes.

“She’s come for Mulligan,” Henry murmured.

They heard Mulligan cry out in agony and as the light disappeared, they all stormed inside to find the same condition as all the others. Nothing left behind for them to even confirm Mulligan had been there in the first place, but more concerning: there was no water in the storeroom.

“No water in here,” Henry frowned as he gazed around the room. “How did she take him? You said she uses water like a door, that's how she enters a room.”

The Doctor stared with wide eyes as he gazed down at the bright, shining crown the Mulligan dropped as he died. 

Ariel followed his line of sight and she could have sworn her heart stopped beating in her chest when she came to the same realization as him.

The Doctor glanced over at her and grimaced as her expression confirmed what he worried he missed.

“It’s got to be, right?” the Doctor breathed.

“I can’t think of anything else,” Ariel shrugged.

The Doctor took a deep breath and glanced back at Henry. “I was wrong. Please ignore all my theories up to this point,” he said and Henry’s face fell.

“What, again?” Henry snapped

“Yeah, it tends to happen a lot,” Ariel nodded, sighing softly. “Might as well get used to it.”

“We're all in danger. The water's not how she's getting in. When we were down in the hold, think what happened. You, me, Ariel, Amy, Rory, leeches,” the Doctor reminded him, clicking his fingers at the captain.

“She sprang from the water,” Henry remembered with a small frown.

“Not just any water,” Ariel shook her head. “She couldn’t spring up out of stormy seas. She only appears when the water is calm.”

“Yes, only when it grew still,” the Doctor agreed with a nod. “Still water. Nature's mirror,” he hummed.

Henry’s eyes widened as he begin to follow along with the train of thought of the couple. “So, you mean-.”

“Yes,” the Doctor nodded. “Not water, reflection,” he confirmed. “What was that siren legend?” the Doctor asked, turning his attention to Ariel. “You said you’d read about it. What was the curse?”

“Y0ou said curses weren’t real,” Henry remembered with a small frown.

“Folklore springs from truth,” the Doctor nodded before turning back to Ariel and raising a brow.

“The Siren was thought to be a hideous creature that could fool men into not only thinking them beautiful but wanting to go after them. They’d use their song to put wonderful visions in the minds of all that heard them  and force them to veer their ships off course so they could kill them,” Ariel explained.

“Did they attack all ships?” the Doctor prompted.

“They had a particular affinity for ships with treasure so they could kill all the men and keep the treasure for themselves,” Ariel responded.

“Right,” the Doctor sighed. “Just as I thought,” he nodded. “Ships filled with treasure. Where else do you get a perfect reflection?” He scoffed.

“Polished metal,” Henry hummed. He was beginning to understand everything about this Siren with the Doctor and Ariel’s presence.

“Hmm,” the Doctor nodded. 

Ariel grabbed a piece of cloth and hid the crown beneath it so the reflection wouldn’t show.

Henry watched the action and his breath caught in his chest when he remembered the medallion he gave to his son. “We must warn them.”

The Doctor and Ariel both grabbed each other’s hands and took off running to the magazine.

They bolted up to the door and began pounding on it furiously. “Amy! Open the door!” the Doctor bellowed.

“Rory! Open up!” Ariel cried.

“Toby, open the door! Toby!” Henry yelled.

Amy swung open the door and the three of them all stumbled inside, tripping over each other to get to Toby.

He held his father’s medallion in his hand and just as he was rubbing away som fog to make a perfect reflection, the Doctor snatched it from his hands and began breathing on it. 

The reflection grew distorted again and the Doctor smiled and gave Ariel and Henry a thumbs up.

“What’s going on?!” Amy exclaimed.

“We were wrong,” Ariel sighed, catching her breath. “The Siren isn’t coming through the water, she’s coming through reflections,” she muttered. “If Toby had made a perfect reflection on the medallion, she would’ve been here.”

“How do you know this?” Rory frowned.

“Mulligan died,” Henry mumbled, hanging his head with the loss. 

“He was in a storeroom without any water,” the Doctor explained with a nod as he passed the medallion back to Toby. He walked over to Ariel and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. “After that, it was only pulling the pieces together.”

“Okay, but there’s hundreds of reflective surfaces on this ship,” Amy shrugged.

“Which is why we have to destroy them all,” the Doctor nodded. “We’ll start with the captain’s cabin,” he said. “Come on, Henry.”

“What about us?” Amy frowned. “What are we supposed to do?”

“Stay here and wait,” the Doctor instructed. “Rory and Toby are both still marked.”

“Along with the Boatswain,” Rory said, nodding towards the pirate sulking in the corner between two barrels of gunpowder.

“What?” Ariel frowned.

“Toby cut his hand and now he’s joined the menu,” Amy explained and Ariel snorted as she looked over and saw the Boatswain glaring at Toby who seemingly couldn’t care less.

“Alright then,” the Doctor sighed. “All of you wait here. We need to get rid of all the other reflective surface on this ship.”

“It’s too dangerous to go out while the ocean is still calm and you need to make sure Rory isn’t take,” Ariel reminded Amy and the redhead nodded.

“Alright, but be careful,” she instructed. “Don’t get killed by a stroppy mermaid,” she advised and Ariel snorted.

“We’ll try not to,” the Doctor smiled.

And with that, they headed out once more. They went to the captain’s cabin and the Doctor grabbed a musket from the desk in the center of the room. He began using the butt of it to smash all the windows in the room looking out to the ocean while Ariel ran around covering up all the gold and silver she could find.

“We've got to destroy every reflection. Gold, silver, glass, she could spring from any of them,” he announced before smashing a large mirror and making Henry blanch. “Oh, yes, yes, I know, I know. Very bad luck to break it,” the Doctor huffed, rolling his eyes at the superstition. “But look at it this way. There's a stroppy homicidal mermaid trying to kill all,” he shrugged.

“How much worse can things get?” Henry chortled with a small smile.

“Yep,” the Doctor agreed. 

“Doctor!” Ariel called when she found Henry’s treasure. “What should we do with this? It has all sorts of reflective surfaces.”

“Help me lug it out,” the Doctor said.

Ariel nodded and she took one side while the Doctor took another and they began carrying the treasure out of the cabin.

“No, hold on,” Henry frowned. “Where are you taking that?”

“The ocean,” the Doctor responded simply and Ariel snorted at how blunt he was.

“No!” Henry cried. “No. This is the treasure of the Mogul of India,” he whined as though he were a child getting his favorite toy taken away.

“Oh, good,” the Doctor huffed, sarcasm dripping from his tone. “For a moment there I thought it was yours,” he said and Ariel barked out a laugh.

“Come on. We have to get it out in case she comes again,” Ariel sighed, beaming at the Doctor. He nodded, but before they could move, Henry stopped them again.

“No, no. Doctor, Ariel, wait,” Henry said, holding out a hand to stop them. “Must we do this?”

“Do you want your son to die by some mermaid in the middle of the ocean just because he wanted to see you?” Ariel retorted with a raised brow.

“Any reflection, any mirror, and the siren will attack. We have to protect Rory and Toby. Go and get the crown from the storeroom,” the Doctor instructed, nodding Henry out of the room.

Henry stared at the treasure with sad eyes as though they were killing his dog before nodding and leaving. 

“Are you sure that’s the smartest idea?” Ariel frowned. “Sending him out after treasure when he knows we’re about to dump this?”

“No,” the Doctor sighed. “But right now we need to get him out of here and that’s the only way.”

Ariel nodded, but before they could head out the door to dump the treasure into the ocean from the main deck, she stopped them.

“Don’t tell me you want the treasure too,” the Doctor whined.

Ariel laughed and shook her head. “No, I’m good,” she assured him. “I was just going to say, we can save the trip and dump the treasure out the windows,” she said, nodding to the broken windows. “It’ll save us the trip and it should be fun to toss it out into the sea,” she shrugged.

“Good idea,” the Doctor hummed, nodding as he turned towards the windows to carry the treasure there. “While we’re doing that maybe you can tell me what you mean by not wanting the treasure.”

Ariel chuckled as they dropped the treasure and both picked up different items to toss outside. 

“I just mean I’m happy as I am,” Ariel shrugged. “I don’t need some golden cup to fill some void because there is none.”

“Is that why you think pirates steal?” the Doctor smirked.

“Partially,” Ariel sighed. “I mean Henry had a family. He had a wife and he had a kid and he still left. There’s gotta be some reason for that other than needing the money.”

“I like to think it’s the addiction,” the Doctor muttered. “They’re addicted to the sea just like we are to traveling.”

“True, but you never really know if something’s an addiction until you try to give it up,” Ariel shrugged. “Have you ever tried to give it up? The traveling?”

“There were a couple times I thought about it,” the Doctor nodded. “Remember how I told you about becoming human once with Martha?”

“Yeah,” Ariel nodded. “You fell in love with a woman in that time period and you were scared about becoming the Doctor again.”

“And I had every reason to be, but that’s not the point,” the Doctor shook his head. “Back then I wanted more than anything to stay with her. To build a family. But then I became the Doctor again…,” he trailed off.

“I get it,” Ariel nodded. “It’s nice to consider and it seems so much easier when faced with all of this, but at the end of the day nothing can top the wonder of being on Henry Avery’s pirate ship battling an actual Siren,” she breathed, the wonder quite clear in her voice.

The Doctor smiled and nodded. “After all this time it never gets old,” he hummed. 

“Do you ever bump into yourself while traveling?” Ariel wondered. “Like past or future versions?”

“Yeah,” the Doctor nodded. “I actually bumped into a past version quite recently. Just before the Titanic and meeting you.”

“That’s so cool,” Ariel muttered. “I wonder if you could bump into a past version of me traveling with you.”

“I could,” the Doctor nodded. “I have actually.”

“What?!” Ariel exclaimed. “When?” She wondered.

“Well, you met her too,” the Doctor said. “With my last face. We ran into the Cybermen trying to take over while Amy and Rory were on their honeymoon. You just forgot because you can’t meet your past self and remember that sort of information.”

“But hold on, if I can’t remember meeting my past or future selves, why do I remember the incident with the Tardis being inside the Tardis? We met different versions of me then,” Ariel remembered.

“They were too close together,” the Doctor shook his head. “If you meet a version of you seperated by months or even years, you won’t remember.”

“Can you remember?” Ariel wondered. “I mean, I know obviously you remember now because you told me now, but could your last face remember?”

“No,” the Doctor shook his head. “I can’t remember any meetings with my future faces until I become that face.”

“Huh,” Ariel smiled. “That’s kinda cool,” she remarked.

The Doctor grinned and tossed the last of the treasure out the broken window into the ocean.

“Well,” Ariel sighed, glancing down at where the treasure had been. “Henry’s going to hate this,” she hummed.

“He doesn’t have a choice,” the Doctor shrugged. “Now, come on,” he said, wrapping his arm around Ariel’s shoulders. “Time to go tell the others the plan,” he announced.

As they headed out, she cast her gaze back at the cabin one last time with a small frown. She felt as though there were a pair of eyes watching her every move, but she just couldn’t place where they would be coming from.

She dismissed the feeling with a shake of her head and a soft sigh, instead, turning her attention back to the Doctor.

“What is the plan?” Ariel wondered with a small frown. 

~~~

“Just wait?” Rory scoffed.

“Not my most dynamic plan, I realise,” the Doctor shrugged. Ariel placed her head on his shoulder and sighed softly, making him smile and rub her back soothingly.

“We don’t really have another way out,” Ariel told the group.

“Tardis?” Amy prompted with a raised brow and the Doctor winced.

“It’s been towed,” he said and Ariel snorted at his explanation. 

“What?” Amy frowned, looking to Ariel for understanding. When the Doctor didn’t go into details, Ariel usually provided them for her.

“Long story,” Ariel sighed, unable to provide much else for the redhead.

“Sorry,” the Doctor shrugged. “We might be stuck here for a while.”

“So you're saying that we should all just wait here below?” Rory frowned. It sounded like they were stuck and he didn’t exactly enjoy that idea when he was marked for death.

“We don’t really have much choice,” Ariel sighed.

“The sea is still calm, like a mirror. If you go out on deck she'll rise up and attack you,” Henry reminded Rory, much to his displeasure.

“It's okay,” the Doctor assured him. “The calm won't last forever. When the wind picks up we'll all set sail,” he promised.

“Hopefully,” Ariel murmured.

“Until it does, you have to hide down here,” Henry instructed.

“We should set up some beds,” Ariel said, glancing around. “If things stay the way they are, we’ll be stuck here all night.”

The Doctor nodded and moved so she could stand up. As she started heading out, Amy whispered something in Rory’s ear and stood up to join her.

“I’ll help you,” Amy said and Ariel smiled at the company.

“Thanks,” Ariel nodded. She kissed the Doctor quickly before taking down the barricade and heading out to the crew’s cabins. 

“Is there any particular reason you wanted to join me?” Ariel prompted. 

“No,” Amy frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“Well, it’s just, you seemed pretty okay sitting in the magazine and it’s not like getting blankets and pillows is that hard of a job,” Ariel shrugged.

Amy sighed softly and hung her head. “It’s about the pregnancy tests,” she mumbled and Ariel smiled.

“I knew it,” Ariel nodded as she headed into the cabin with all the hammocks lined up where the crew hard been sleeping. “What happened? Did it come back positive or something?”

“No,” Amy shook her head. “Well, sort of. You know how you told me to take a lot of tests to be sure?”

“Yeah?” Ariel prompted, raising a brow at Amy as she gathered some blankets off one of the hammocks. “Did you forget to do it?”

“No, I did just that. I took every test you gave me. All ten of them,” Amy said.

“Amy, I gave you ten so you could use some of them later on in case you get the scare again!” Ariel exclaimed with large eyes. “I knew you’d be staying with us for months again after the Doctor’s death so I wanted to make sure you didn’t have to ask him to stop somewhere and get you more.”

“Well, I took them all anyway,” Amy huffed.

“And?” Ariel implored.

“I got five positive and five negative,” Amy responded and Ariel’s eyes inflated. 

“What?” Ariel gasped. “How-How is that even possible?!”

“I don’t know, but it happened!” Amy exclaimed. “I told Rory I wasn’t pregnant so he wouldn’t worry, but I don’t know what to do.”

“Hell, if I know,” Ariel scoffed. “Maybe, you and Rory could go back home for a little just so you can schedule a doctor’s pregnancy test,” she suggested.

“No,” Amy moaned. “I can’t so that ‘cause then he’ll get suspicious and I already told him everything was fine.”

“And remind me again why you can’t tell your  _ husband  _ what’s really going?” Ariel prompted, spinning around and shoving some of the blankets and pillows she had collected into Amy’s hands.

“Oh, he gets all worked up over these things,” Amy sighed.

“As he should,” Ariel nodded, collecting more blankets and pillows.

“And he overreacts,” Amy continued.

“As most people do,” Ariel mumbled.

“And I just don’t think he should know until I can tell him what’s going on,” Amy shrugged.

“While that is the first valid point you’ve put forth, I’ve still gotta remind you that Rory is a nurse, Amy,” Ariel said. “If anyone can tell you what’s going on and help, it’s him.”

“It’s different when he’s dealing with something wrong with me,” Amy moaned. “I’m his wife and potentially carrying his kid, something he’s wanted since he was a kid. If something is seriously wrong with either of us, he’ll be devastated.”

“I get that,” Ariel nodded. “I really do. But don’t you think it’s better for him to know if something is seriously wrong instead of finding out when it’s too late?” She prompted and Amy’s face fell.

“I guess you’re right,” Amy mumbled.

“You know I am,” Ariel sighed. 

“What would you do if you were me?” Amy wondered.

“I would have told the Doctor the second I sensed something was wrong,” Ariel told her. “Our husbands may act like idiots most of the time, but if something is wrong with either of us, they’ll do whatever it takes to make it okay. No matter what it takes,” she sighed. “I mean, your husband waited outside a box for you for basically the entire history of the Earth and mine made the universe explode just to keep me alive. So, yeah, they’re idiots, but they’re idiots and they’d do anything for us.”

Ariel flashed a quick smile at Amy before marching past her and heading out of the cabin.

“Do you ever wonder what would happen if by some chance you did become pregnant?” Amy wondered. “Do you worry about being a bad parent?” She mumbled, pressing her hand against her stomach as her concern escaped her lips.

“It’s highly unlikely that I will become pregnant, but if I did I wouldn’t have to worry,” Ariel shrugged, spinning around to grin at Amy. “I’d be okay because I’d be having a kid with the person I love most in the universe and if I was raising a child with him, sure it’d be scary, but I know in the long run it would be okay,” she smiled. “Granted, I’d probably have to leave the Doctor once the kid got older so they could go to school,” she chuckled.

“You’d leave the Doctor to raise them?” Amy frowned.

“Yeah,” Ariel mumbled. “As much as I love him, I don’t want my kids entire education to be based around the Tardis. They’d be half human and I’d want them to be able to spend some of that humanity on Earth.”

“I didn’t think you’d leave the Doctor for anything,” Amy scoffed. 

“Well, I think my own child pretty much trumps anything,” Ariel chuckled. “But it’s fine,” she shrugged. “I already told the Doctor that when we started having sex. I explained how I probably couldn’t be pregnant but if something impossible did happen, I’d leave him once the kid started getting old enough for school and take them to Earth for primary.”

“You thought through what you’d do having a kid even though it’s impossible?” Amy frowned.

“Living with the Doctor, impossible things tend to happen, and I figured I’d account for all of them,” Ariel shrugged. 

Amy chuckled and nodded. “Fair enough,” she said.

Ariel knocked onto the door to the magazine and announced their presence. Once she heard them taking down the barricade, she glanced back at Rory.

“Remember, you need to tell Rory,” Ariel reminded her. “Especially, if he winds up being caught by the Siren, he deserves to know.”

“Yeah,” Amy sighed. “I just need to work out when,” she mumbled.

“Tell him before bed,” Ariel smiled as the Doctor swung open the door for them. “That way if he gets upset you can pull the, ‘I’m tired’ card and head to sleep,” she said and Amy laughed.

“Good idea,” she nodded.

They headed inside and the Doctor frowned at Ariel. “Who gets upset?” He wondered.

“Oh, remember how I told you I was giving some of the pregnancy tests to Amy?” She prompted and the Doctor nodded. “They were all inconclusive and she has to tell Rory.”

“Oh,” the Doctor winced, glancing back at Amy. “Good luck with that.”

“Great,” Amy huffed. “Now, everybody knows but him,” she muttered.

“Knows what?” Rory asked, walking over with a small smile. 

“Nothing,” Amy groaned, shoving the blankets and pillows into his arms. “Just spread these out with me, will you?”

“Sure,” Rory mumbled, frowning as he glanced back at the Doctor and Ariel, who were staring at him with large eyes.

“Oh, I hope I’m asleep by the time that conversation starts,” Ariel sighed.

“That makes two of us,” the Doctor chuckled.

~~~

Later that night, Ariel slept deeply in the Doctor’s arms while Amy sat awake in Rory’s. 

She stared at Ariel sleeping just beside her and hated that she still felt jealous of the brunette. She wasn’t jealous of the fact that the girl was married to the Doctor and she was not, she was jealous of how perfect a relationship she was in.

Ariel felt it so easy to just tell the Doctor everything and Amy knew from her conversations with him that the Doctor had no secrets from Ariel. 

For some reason, when faced with telling Rory about something he had wanted since he was a kid, she had been petrified.

He was so kind and promised her they would work things out when she told him before they went to bed and it only made her hate herself for keeping the information from him for so long. 

She wanted to be able to easily just tell her husband anything and everything that should come to her. She loved him with everything in her, but when it came to talking about things that worried her, she turned to the Doctor and Ariel rather than her own husband.

The Doctor and Ariel were best friends. Why couldn’t she feel that way with Rory? For some reason friendship and bring in a relationship felt like they should be mutually exclusive in her mind and she hated it.

As Ariel rolled over in her sleep to bury her face in the Doctor’s chest, Amy decided that no matter what, she would tell Rory everything.

She wanted to build a marriage like the Doctor and Ariel’s rather than being terrified of confessing her fears to her husband.

He deserved to know when something was wrong.

She took a deep breath and glanced around the room, knowing she wouldn’t be getting sleep anytime soon.

She sat up and her eyes grew wide as she saw what looked like some strange hatch in the door. A hatch she was certain wasn’t there before.

On the other side of it, a pale woman with dark curled hair and an eyepatch appeared.

“It's fine. You're doing fine. Just stay calm,” the woman said.

Amy frowned and tapped Rory furiously, waking him up with a disgruntled groan.

“What is it?” Rory moaned. “What’s wrong?”

“Do you see the-?” Amy began, just as the woman closed the hatch and it disappeared from the door.

“Amy?” Rory implored, now fully awake and frowning as he sat up by Amy’s side. “What’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“I thought I just,” Amy mumbled, shaking her head. “It was strange. I thought I saw this hatch in the door and this woman was on the other side of it. She was telling me I was doing fine and then she disappeared.”

“I don’t see a hatch,” Rory shook his head. “Did you recognize the woman?”

“No,” Amy sighed. 

“Were you sleeping?” Rory asked, glancing between his wife and the door. “Maybe you dreamed-.”

“No, I hadn’t been sleeping for a while,” Amy muttered.

“Well, do you think it’s something worth telling the Doctor about?” Rory wondered, glancing down at the Doctor and Ariel.

“Maybe,” Amy mumbled. “I’ll tell Ariel in the morning and see what she thinks first,” she said.

“Alright,” Rory nodded. “Now, why weren’t you sleeping? Is there something you want to talk about?”

“No, I just,” Amy sighed and shook her head. “I’m just sorry I didn’t tell you earlier about the pregnancy tests.”

Rory smiled and cupped Amy’s cheek. “That’s fine,” he assured her with a nod. “I don’t expect you to tell me everything immediately. There are some things you need time with.”

“But I told Ariel and the Doctor before you,” Amy muttered.

“If you wanted to talk to them first, I’m not going to blame you,” Rory shrugged. “I’m just happy you told me.”

Amy grinned at him. She didn’t deserve him. He was far too good for her. “Thank you,” she mumbled.

She kissed him sweetly and Rory beamed at her. “No problem,” Rory assured her. “Now, let’s see if we get some sleep,” he hummed and Amy nodded.

She laid back down by his side and fell asleep smiling in his arms.

~~~

After Ariel woke up in the middle of the night, she woke the Doctor up and they sat out on the deck, staring out at the stars.

“It's not one star, it's two,” the Doctor said, pointing up at the sky. “The Dog star, Sirius. Binary system,” he explained with a small smile.

“Huh,” Ariel frowned. “I always wondered which star Sirius Black was named from in Harry Potter.”

“Yeah,” the Doctor smirked. “She chose the Dog star.”

“I use it to navigate the ocean,” Henry nodded, walking up behind them. 

They both looked over momentarily and smiled at him as he walked up to the Doctor’s side and looked up.

“I’ve read the stories,” Ariel sighed. “You’ve been everywhere haven’t you?” She smiled and Henry smirked at her momentarily before glancing up at the sky.

“I've travelled far, like you,” the Doctor nodded. “Space can be very lonely, and the greatest adventure is having someone share it with you,” he hummed, glancing down at Ariel and wrapping an arm around her.

She grinned and wrapped her arm around his waist, pressing her head to his chest.

Henry sighed softly and glanced back at the magazine where his son was sleeping. “If we get out of this I'll take him back to England. He can't stay with me,” he shook his head. “I'm not the father he needs.”

Ariel and the Doctor shared a look.

“Who are you, Henry Avery?” the Doctor wondered, raising a brow at Henry. “Respected naval officer, wife and child at home. How did you end up here, wandering the oceans with a band of rogues?”

Rather than respond, Henry took a deep breath and clenched his jaw, keeping his gaze fixed on the sky.

“I've set my course now,” Henry muttered. “Nothing I can do to alter it.”

The Doctor glanced back up at the sky and sighed softly. “People stared at it for centuries and never knew. Things can suddenly change, when you're least expecting,” he hummed.

Ariel beamed up at the Doctor but Henry just took a shaky breath and shook his head, turning and heading back to the magazine.

Ariel and the Doctor watched him leave before turning their gazes back up to the stars.

“It’s strange,” Ariel mumbled. “We could be looking up at stars that didn’t even exist when I was alive.”

“The universe never ceases to amaze,” the Doctor smiled. He took a deep breath and glanced down. “That is what got you lot into this mess after all.”

“What are you talking about?” Ariel frowned.

“Offer a suitcase full of sweets and they’ll take it,” the Doctor mumbled. “Offer someone all of time and space and they’ll take that too. Which is why you shouldn’t,” he said, glancing down pointedly at her.

“Are you honestly suggesting I have the self control of a child greeted with sugar?” Ariel scoffed with a small smile and raised brow.

“No, I just-,” the Doctor began with a small frown.

“If I’m honest, I very well might, but I know for a fact Rory and Amy know better than that. Especially Rory,” Ariel smiled. “This is not just a box of chocolates with no catches tagged on. Sure, the wonders of the universe are great, but it’s dangerous as well and we all know that.”

“Yes, but if you tag on a couple dangers to the suitcase of sweets, the child will still want the sweets,” the Doctor insisted.

“Not if it’s life or death. I don’t know what sort of children you’ve met but if you took a child who understood the permanence of death and told them they could have the sweets, but they may die eating them, they’d be far too scared to try,” Ariel sighed. “At least I would have,” she mumbled. “No, this isn’t just about how beautiful all of time and space is anymore. We’re still here because we love you and we don’t want you to be alone. If you know your friend makes a habit of marching headfirst into danger, you’re not gonna run and live your life while they continue doing it. You’re going to try everything you can to keep them alive because you care about them and you want them to stick around,” Ariel nodded. “That’s what we’re doing for you.”

The Doctor smiled and pulled her close to his chest, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you,” he mumbled.

“You’re welcome,” Ariel grinned, pulling away just enough for her to be able to meet his bright green eyes. “And don’t you worry,” she said, placing a gentle hand on his chest. “I won’t be going anywhere,” she assured him.

The Doctor let out a soft sigh and pulled her into a tighter hug as he stared out at the ocean around them.

After they watched the sun rise together, Ariel recalled the strange feeling she had back in the captain’s cabin and frowned.

“Doctor? Do you think we could go back to the captain’s cabin for a minute?” She asked.

“Why?” the Doctor frowned.

“Well, when we were in there last I got this really weird feeling,” Ariel mumbled. “It felt like I was being watched.”

“Do you think it could be the Siren?” He implored. “Could there be something reflective we missed?”

“I dunno,” Ariel shrugged. “I figure if we go back, I can see if I feel it again and work from there.”

“Alright,” the Doctor nodded. “I’ll tell Henry where we’re going and we’ll head over.”

“Okay,” Ariel smiled. 

He headed back to the magazine and told Henry they were going to his cabin. After, he headed back out to Ariel and grabbed her hand before walking to the captain’s cabin.

They stepped inside and Ariel narrowed her eyes at her surroundings, trying to spot anything out of the ordinary.

“Oh,” the Doctor mumbled with a small frown.

“You feel it too?” Ariel nodded.

“Yeah, oh, that’s strange,” the Doctor muttered, walking around the room and trying to pinpoint where he felt as though there was someone right behind him.

“Do you think it’s the Siren?” Ariel wondered.

“If not then we’re dealing with two things on this ship at once and that would be very interesting indeed,” the Doctor hummed. 

“But if it’s the Siren, how can she be watching us?” Ariel asked. “I thought we got every reflective surface in here.”

“We did,” the Doctor nodded. “I even threw away the shards of glass that fell from the windows.”

“Then she must have some other way of spying on us,” Ariel mumbled.

“It must be how she knew exactly which crew members were sick,” the Doctor said. “Because knowing when they get cut is one thing, but Avery didn’t even know Toby was on board, yet she had already marked him.”

“I thought it was automatic, like she could sense it or something,” Ariel said.

“No,” the Doctor sighed. “No, that’s too easy.”

“Yeah, it does sound a bit ridiculous hearing it now,” Ariel muttered with a small frown. “Maybe, she has-.”

“Hold on,” the Doctor said, holding up a single finger. “I think,” he murmured, frowning as he stepped to the side. “Yeah, the feeling is strongest here,” he announced. “It feels like she’s right behind me.”

Immediately, Ariel rushed to his side to confirm his feeling for herself. When she stepped up to his side she almost felt a chill run down her spine at the feeling of a set of eyes directly upon her, staring at her.

Just then, there was a soft knock on the door and Amy walked into the cabin. “Ariel? Doctor?” She implored.

“Shush,” they both snapped, pressing their fingers to their lips.

“What can you see?” Amy asked, immediately lowering her voice to a hush at their words.

“Feels like something's out there, staring straight at us,” the Doctor mumbled.

“Come over here,” Ariel called, waving the redhead to her side.

Amy rushed over and stood beside Ariel. She sucked in a sharp breath when she sensed what the pair were talking about. “Oh, that is weird,” she hummed.

“I know right?” Ariel smirked. “We think it’s the Siren.”

Before Amy could ask how they knew that, a crack of lightning raced across the sky and made all of them jump.

The Doctor’s eyes grew wide when he spotted the sea beginning to move through the broken windows.

“Man the sails!” the Doctor cried and raced outside.

Ariel giggled as she watched him bolt out. “We get to sail a pirate ship,” she smiled at her friend.

“Yeah, great,” Amy nodded, her voice lacking the conviction it usually held.

“What’s wrong?” Ariel frowned.

“Last night, I saw something and I wanted to tell you before the Doctor ‘cause I’m not quite sure what it-,” Amy began.

“Amy, I want to hear. I really do,” Ariel insisted. “But the storm is starting to pick up and, can you tell me later? When we’re less busy?”

“Right,” Amy nodded. “Yeah, of course.”

“Great,” Ariel grinned. “Now, come on,” she said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “We have a pirate ship to sail.”

She dragged her out of the cabin and Amy laughed as they rushed out to the main deck where the Doctor, Rory, Toby and Henry were all already running about trying to sail the ship.

“What can we do?!” Ariel called, the rain coming down hard and forcing her to yell.

“To the rigging, you dogs!” Henry cried. “Let go the sails! Avast ye! Put the bunt into the slack of the clews!”

Amy and Rory ran to pull on the sheets while Henry continued to spout strange pirate lingo.

“I swear he’s making half this stuff up!” Amy exclaimed and Ariel and Rory laughed.

“Well, we're going to need some kind of phrase book,” Rory agreed, chuckling as he and Amy moved to the next set of sails.

Ariel ran up to the Doctor’s side where he was at the wheel, trying desperately to turn her bow on the storm.

“We’re good now right?!” Ariel cried. “She can’t find us anymore?!”

“I wouldn’t say we’re out of the woods yet!” the Doctor hollered over the storm. “We have to get back to the Tardis first!”

“Oh, that’s going to be fun,” Ariel moaned sarcastically and the Doctor laughed.

“Toby!” Henry called out to his son “Find my coat. My compass is inside it, boy. Heave ho, you bilge rats!” He yelled through the storm.

“Rats was all I could hear!” Rory exclaimed and Ariel laughed.

“Y’know, the Tardis should really be able to translate pirate language!” She shouted.

“I don’t think anybody can understand that!” the Doctor exclaimed and Ariel snorted.

Toby returned with his father’s coat, but as he was running on the wet floorboards of the ship, he tripped and stumbled causing a bright golden crown to fall out of the coat.

The Doctor and Ariel raced forward and stared with large eyes as the crown rolled across the deck and they all stared, frozen by sheer terror as they looked down at the crown.

It rattled as it stilled on the ground and within moments, a bright green arm stretched out of the crown.

“No!” Ariel cried, racing forward just as the Siren flew out of the crown. The Doctor tugged her backwards instinctively as the Siren flew up the rigging as though stretching her legs before she soared back down to the boat where both Toby and Rory were trying to head to her.

“Don’t let her take you!” Henry shouted, furiously racing to get to his son before the Siren.

It was too late. The Siren was nearing Toby and Toby was reached out towards her.

“No!” Henry screamed.

The Siren reached Toby and the boy disappeared in a puff of smoke.

“No!” Henry hollered. 

Ariel raced forward and kicked the crown off the deck into the ocean before the Siren could set her sights on Rory and heaved a sigh of relief once it was gone.

The Doctor, on the other hand, clenched his jaw and began marching towards Henry with fury coming off him in waves.

“I’m sorry,” Henry mumbled. “I’m sorry,” he sobbed, his gaze fixed on the placed where Toby had disappeared.

“You couldn't give up the gold, could you?!” the Doctor snapped. “That's why you turned pirate! Your commission, your wife, your son. Just how much is that treasure worth to you, man?!”

Ariel marched over, ready to join the Doctor’s side when she slipped on the rain. She cried out as she fell face first towards the ground. 

The Doctor spun around with wide eyes to find his wife sobbing in pain as she stared down at a nail that had gone all the way through her hand.

He bolted over and skidded on the rain as he reached her. The nail went all the way through her left hand and she was in tears as she watched her hand bleed.

“It’s okay,” the Doctor breathed. He tried to help her up, but she cried out in further pain as her hand was pulled back out of the nail.

The Doctor helped her to her feet and hugged her tightly. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured her, smoothing down her wet hair. “You’re going to be okay,” he muttered as she sobbed into his chest.

Ariel felt a strange tingling on her hand and sucked in a sharp breath as she pulled out of the Doctor’s hug to find a pristine black spot on her right hand.

She and the Doctor shared a horrified gaze as they looked at the spot. 

The Doctor clenched his jaw and turned to narrow his eyes at Henry. “Have you got any other treasure squirreled away on this bloody ship?!” He snapped and Henry shook his head furiously.

As he did so, a loose spar hit Rory where he stood beside Amy. The redhead screamed as her husband was tossed into the ocean and they all ran to the edge to try and see if they could spot him.

However, with the storm causing the waves to be completely chaotic, they lost him as soon as he fell in.

“Rory! Rory!” Amy cried. “I can't see him. Doctor? Ariel? I'm going in,” Amy announced, beginning to climb up onto the edge of the ship.

“No, no, Amy, you can’t!” Ariel yelled as she and the Doctor pulled her back down.

“He's drowning!” the Doctor shouted. “You go in after him, you'll drown too. There's only one thing that can save him now,” he said.

“What are you talking about?” Amy frowned.

The Doctor took a deep breath and turned to place his hands on Ariel’s shoulders. 

“Do you trust me?” the Doctor asked.

“Of course,” Ariel shrugged. 

“If I’m going to save him I have to call her, but I don’t think it’ll mean the end,” the Doctor said.

“She has to take me,” Ariel nodded, beginning to understand.

“I’m sorry,” the Doctor sighed.

“It’s okay,” Ariel smiled, nodding once more to him. She cupped his cheek delicately. “Even if you’re not right, I don’t mind. If it means you can save him. I’ll do it.”

“I’ll see you again,” the Doctor promised, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “She’s not just a ravenous hunter. She’ll be taking you somewhere.”

“I hope you’re right,” Ariel sighed. “But either way it’s okay,” she assured him.

The Doctor took a shaky breath and nodded, heading over to one of the barrels of water on the deck.

“What are you doing?” Amy frowned. 

“The Siren. The Siren, she wants him. We have to release her!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Doctor, no!” Amy shrieked. She tried to jump over to him and stop him, but Ariel pulled him back.

He sonicked open the fresh water barrel and the Siren soared out. 

Ariel’s heart began thudding loudly in her chest at the very sight of her. Music flooded her ears as the Siren flew slowly down towards her and Ariel felt as though she herself could fly through the air as she slowly stumbled towards the woman, beaming as she held out her hand.

The Siren barely grazed her hand and she felt herself disappear with a strange pull on her form as though she was being dragged to some place new.


	8. Saving Nurse Williams

The Doctor, Amy, and Henry all woke up with gasps on a cool metal floor.

“Where are we?” Amy frowned, glancing around at the foreign area the Siren had dropped them at. Why had they landed there rather than with the others?

The Doctor stood up and immediately pulled out his sonic to scan the area they had fallen into after they allowed themselves to be taken by the Siren.

However, his sonic fell to his side when he spotted a large glass window from which he spotted the original ship they had come from and the exact spot they had been standing in when they were taken by the Siren. “We haven't moved,” he mumbled. “We're in exactly the same place as before.”

Henry and Amy’s eyes widened as they stepped forward and looked through the window the Doctor had found himself transfixed by. Ariel had been the first to notice it of course. She knew someone was watching them long before the Doctor had managed to figure out who the Siren actually was.

“We’re on a ghost ship,” Henry breathed, his limited understanding of the world he had stumbled across peeking through with his words.

“No. It's real,” the Doctor confirmed with a shake of his head. This was how it all made sense. That eerie feeling lingering behind him and Ariel as though a pari of eyes were following their every movement. The Siren had been watching them. He sighed softly and raked his fingers through his hair as he lifted up his sonic and sought confirmation for his suspicions. When he received it, he gave a firm nod and turned to explain how the ship could be there to Amy and Henry. “Space ship trapped in a temporal rift,” he said.

“How can two ships be in the same place?” Amy wondered, not understanding how the Siren’s ship could have quite literally been on top of them the entire time without them even noticing.

“Not the same,” the Doctor shook his head. “Two planes, two worlds, two cars parked in the same space,” he said, sighing softly as he raked his mind for how Ariel might explain it to the redhead. “There are lots of different universes nested inside each other. Now and again they collide, and you can step from one to the other,” he explained.

“Okay, I think I understand,” Amy nodded, a small smile gracing her lips as she noticed the Doctor was getting much better at explaining things without lengthy incomprehensible rambles.

“Good, because it's not like that at all,” the Doctor hummed and Amy snorted, shaking her head at the Doctor and sighing softly. He never did change. “But if that helps,” he offered with a shrug.

Amy smiled softly at the Doctor and chuckled. “Thanks,” she mumbled, unsure if she truly should be thanking him after he offered her a virtually pointless explanation.

The Doctor nodded and turned to find Henry staring at the window with large eyes, unblinking eyes persistently focused on it. “All the reflections have suddenly become gateways,” he announced.

He knelt down and picked up a small piece of metal from the floor of a ship that was falling to bits. He stood up and tossed the metal straight through the window only to watch as it landed on deck of the other ship.

“Ever look in a mirror and think you're seeing a whole other world?” the Doctor prompted with a small smirk and raised brow. “Well, this time it's not an illusion,” he hummed.

All of a sudden, there was a soft but steady beeping from the controls beneath the Doctor’s hands. His eyes widened and he looked down to check the controls, but already knew what the beeping was.

“The signal,” Amy murmured, only confirming his suspicions verbally.

“Yes,” the Doctor nodded, toying with the signal on the control panel to cancel it so that no other ships arrived when he was already there.

“The distress call?” Amy clarified with a raised brow.

“Uh huh,” the Doctor mumbled distractedly. 

“There was a second ship here all the time,” Amy sighed, all the pieces beginning to fall into place before her eyes.

The Doctor finished cancelling the signal and took a deep breath before turning to Amy and offering her a small smile. “And the Siren is on board,” he hummed.

They headed out of the room towards a door and when it opened, found two figures seated at what the assumed was the bridge. The Doctor walked around to the figures to see if he could ask any questions, but let out a soft sigh of defeat when he found nothing but skeletons. 

“Dead,” he confirmed in a short nod for Henry and Amy and they both sighed in frustration.

Amy walked forward towards the Doctor and kept her eyes focused on the sight of the captain’s cabin through the window the two seated figures were staring at.

“You and Ariel were right,” Amy mumbled, gesturing towards the window for the Doctor to notice. “There was something staring at us the whole time,” she sighed. “How long has this ship been marooned here?” She wondered, frowning slightly as she looked back to the Doctor.

“Long enough for the Captain to have run out of grog,” Henry hummed, stepping around to the other side of the skeleton of the captain.

“I don't understand,” Amy frowned, shaking her head at the captain. “If this is the Captain, then what's the Siren?” She wondered.

“Same as us,” the Doctor shrugged, turning to face Amy with a soft sigh. “A stowaway.”

“She killed it?” Amy guessed with a raised brow as she nodded to the alien captain in question.

The Doctor found himself asking that very same question himself and so he pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the dead captain before them. He looked at the readings and his eyes grew wide at what they told him. “Human bacteria,” he mumbled in disbelief, not quite believing the words himself.

“What?” Amy frowned.

“A virus from our planet,” the Doctor mumbled, sticking out his hand to touch the bacteria himself. “Airborne, travelling through the portal,” he said, nodding to the window behind him. “That's what killed it. Didn't get its jabs,” he chuckled softly, but winced when he found the mucus he had just barely touched was now sticking to most of his hand. “Urgh. Look.”

“What is it?” Amy asked, stepping closer, unsure if he was showing her something really important that she needed to get a better look at.

“Sneeze!” the Doctor cried, waving his hand furiously as he tried to get the mucus off of his fingers. “Alien bogies,” he moaned as Amy rolled her eyes. He took a deep breath and wiped all the mucus off on Amy’s sleeve while the redhead fought back the urge to groan loudly in irritation. It was times like these when she really wished Ariel was there because at this moment she felt like she was a mother trying to keep a handle on a toddler.

“We should go,” Henry mumbled and Amy couldn’t agree more.

They headed out of the bridge and explored the ship for a little while longer until they stumbled across a room with bright white lights and dozens of floating mattresses with a body on each of them. All of the people in the room were unconscious and wired up no matter if they had a small cut like Dancer or they were truly ill like Toby.

“McGrath!” Henry cried, bolting over to the side of one of the men closest to them that laid unconscious on the mattress. “He’s one of my men,” he mumbled, cradling the man’s head desperately as though silently begging him to awaken.

Amy and the Doctor walked up and Amy checked the man’s heartbeat and placed a hand beneath his nose as though to ensure the Siren hadn’t murdered him and laid him out on a pristine mattress with the others. Her disbelief shined through when she muttered, “he’s still breathing.”

Henry glanced around what seemed to be a sick bay as he took in all the other bodies the Siren had collected in the room. “My entire crew is here,” he breathed, both relief and shock flooding his senses. Though he was sure his heart stopped beating when he caught sight of a small figure stretched out on a mattress across the room. “Toby!” He cried out and immediately bolted towards him.

Amy’s eyes grew wide as she watched Henry run to Toby and her brain began kicking into motion as she realized if the Siren is keeping everyone alive, that meant Rory had to be alive somewhere in this very room.

Confirming her suspicions, she spotted Rory connected to a tube, lying unconscious at the far end of the room. “Rory!” She screamed and without even thinking she raced over to his side, desperate to cradle him in her arms once again.

As she ran to him, the Doctor’s eyes traced across the room, furiously searched for that spot of chestnut brown hair he knew so well. 

When he found it, his lips grew into a face splitting grin. “Ariel!” He bellowed as he rushed to her side, nearly tripping over himself to get back to her.

He cradled her cheek carefully and softly brushed a few wavy strands of brown hair from her face to greet her peaceful expression. 

He took her hand in his, but paused and looked down with a frown when his fingers traced over a set of stitches gracing his hand and covering up the hole had caused. Right at the vein in her arm, he found she was being injected with some strange substance. He frowned as he looked at the label. Acel-Immune, Acthib, and DBT. She was being given a tetanus shot. 

Not only was the Siren not killing her. She was actually curing her. The Doctor’s eyes widened as he began to realize who the Siren really was. 

“We have to get them out of here,” Henry gasped, beginning to sit his son up so he could remove all the wires on him.

“Wait!” the Doctor cried, spinning around with wide eyes. He pulled his sonic out once more and moved across the room to scan Toby. When he peered at the readings, his suspicions were only confirmed. “His fever’s gone,” he mumbled and Henry frowned, not understanding why the Siren would want to save his son.

“He looks so well,” Amy sighed, combing her fingers through Rory’s hair on the other side of the room.

“She's keeping him alive,” the Doctor explained, his tone breathless and eyes wide as he returned to Ariel’s side. “His brain is still active, but all its cellular activity is suspended. It's not a curse, it's a tissue sample. Why get samples of people you are about to kill?” He wondered as he combed his fingers through her hair.

“I have to get him up,” Amy muttered, basically ignoring the Doctor’s words as she pulled Rory up into a sitting position and began to wake him up.

As Rory’s eyes began to flutter open, there were loud sirens wailing and beeps alerting the Siren to Rory’s conscious form.

“She’s coming,” the Doctor gasped, turning to Amy with wide eyes.

They both hid behind the monitors as the Siren headed towards Rory’s bed. Rory gasped desperately for air as though he was choking and when the Siren arrived, she sang and slowly calmed him down and allowed him to drift off to sleep.

“Anaesthetic,” the Doctor breathed as he and Amy stepped out from behind the monitors.

“What?”  Henry frowned.

“The music. The song,” the Doctor explained quickly. “So she anaesthetises people and puts their body in stasis,” he mumbled. He turned to Ariel with a small smile and combed his fingers through her hair. “She takes care of them.”

He glanced down at the controls and tried to figure out how to wake Ariel up. He wasn’t going to try and take her as Amy had, he just wanted to be able to see her face smiling at him once more.

He flipped a few switches and with a large gasp, Ariel awoke. The Doctor held her as she coughed sharply at her awakening and regained her breath. 

Once she did, she looked at the arm holding her with a small frown and glanced up to greet the Doctor’s sparkling green eyes.

“Doctor,” Ariel breathed, grinning at him. “You came back.”

“‘Course I came back,” the Doctor mumbled. “I’ll always come back for you,” he assured her.

Ariel grinned and cupped his cheek before slowly pulling his lips to meet her own. His lips were soft, almost teasing as he stole a kiss from her and Ariel hissed when he smoothed a cold hand under her shirt to the small of her back.

Reaching for him, she tangled her hands into his hair and kissed him back hungrily.

As they kissed, the Siren made her way across the sick bay towards Toby and they both entirely missed the chance to stop Henry as he stepped out from behind a curtain and fired a shot straight at the Siren making her figure glow bright red.

The Doctor and Ariel shot apart and turned to the scene with wide eyes as the Siren hissed at Henry.

“Oh, no,” Ariel mumbled.

The Doctor gasped furiously, but before he could say a word, he let out a sharp sneeze.

The Siren automatically rounded on the Doctor and produced a bright fire in between her hands.

“Doctor,” Ariel said, tugging the Doctor’s sleeve worriedly. “You might want to think of something, and fast.”

“Fire. That's new,” the Doctor gasped. “What does fire do? Burn? Yes. Destroy? What else?” He persisted. “Sterilise!” He exclaimed with wide eyes. “I sneezed. I've brought germs in,” he nodded.

He fished a hanky out of his pocket and blew his nose into it, stumbling as he walked backwards so he wouldn’t be greeted with the Siren’s fire. He tossed the hanky onto the ground and the Siren blasted it with the fire, reducing it to nothing but ashes.

“Blimey, good thing that wasn’t your face,” Ariel mumbled, staring down at the hanky with large eyes.

The Doctor chuckled and simply nodded. Meanwhile, in the midst of the chaos, Amy rushed back to Rory’s side and tried to press every button she could find to wake Rory up.

“Oh, no, no, what’s she doing?” Ariel mumbled, frowning as she turned her attention towards the desperate Amy.

“Amy, stop!” the Doctor called. “Don't interfere. Don't touch him. Anaesthetic, tissue sample, screen, sterile working conditions. Ignore all my previous theories!” He cried.

“Yeah?” Amy scoffed, rolling her eyes at the Doctor. “Well, we stopped paying attention a while back,” she announced. “You got her up, so I’m going to figure out how to get him out of this damn machine!” She barked.

“Doctor, she’s not evil,” Ariel mumbled, holding up her hand. “Look. She stitched up the hole in my hand.”

“Yeah, I saw,” the Doctor muttered with a small frown. “But if she did that, that means she’s not a killer at all,” he sighed, his eyes wide as he began to understand. “She’s a doctor!” He cried.

At his words, the Siren stopped pursuing Amy and fell back into her calm blue shade while the redhead stopped pressing buttons to try and get Rory awake.

“This is an automated sick bay,” the Doctor chuckled softly in fascination as he spun around and took in the room. “It's teleporting everyone on board. The crew are dead, and so the sick bay has had nothing to do,” he shrugged. “It's been looking after humanity whilst it's been idle. Look at her. A virtual doctor able to sterilise a whole room,” he hummed with a small smile.

“Able to burn your face off,” Amy mumbled bitterly, glaring back at the Siren as she crossed her arms.

“She's just an interface, seeped through the join between the planes, broadcast in our world,” the Doctor explained with a soft sigh. “Protean circuitry means she can change her form, and become a human doctor for humans. Oh, sister, you are good,” he remarked with a small smirk and Ariel giggled.

“She won’t let us take them,” Henry huffed. “I’m not sure how you got Ariel awake, but-.”

The rest of Henry’s words were lost on the Doctor as he spotted Ariel’s ring. The Siren must have seen it. If she was able to understand Ariel’s marriage then she could easily comprehend the fact that the Doctor was there to take care of her. That was the case in any hospital. If an individual was ill and needed care, they needed a caretaker. She was intelligent enough to understand that the Doctor would be Ariel’s caretaker.

“I'm his wife, for God's sake,” Amy huffed, throwing her hands up in the air helplessly. “Why can't I touch him?” She wondered.

The Doctor glanced down at Ariel and the girl just beamed up at him. He took a deep breath and decided to test his theory. 

He glanced at the shot she was being injected with and smiled softly when he found it was almost empty. That meant he wouldn’t be removing her without her getting the tetanus shot she needed.

“Are you ready?” the Doctor prompted, raising a brow at Ariel. He didn’t question or doubt the fact that she knew what he was doing. 

“Ready as I’ll ever be,” Ariel nodded.

The Doctor flashed her a quick smile before removing the tetanus shot being injected into her vein. As he did so, sirens began crying out and yelling and the Siren moved back towards them with her figure shining bright red.

The Doctor removed the tube from Ariel’s throat and she gasped desperately for air. He handed her a small gas mask so she could regain her breath before proceeding to remove all the other wires from her body and just as he finished, the Siren arrived, ready to give him hell for removing Ariel from the system.

Rather than say a word, the Doctor just sat Ariel up on the bed and held up her hand with her wedding ring on it. 

“Come on. Sophisticated girl like you. That must be somewhere in your core program,” the Doctor insisted, holding up the ring furiously.

The Siren focused on the ring with a strange expression crossing over her face. She glanced back up at the Doctor and held out her hand with a ring of light around it.

The Doctor’s eyes widened. She did have an understanding of basic hospital procedure as he thought. She was offering him a consent form.

The Doctor nodded and stepped forward, sticking his hand into the light. After he did so, the Siren disappeared.

The Doctor smiled and turned towards Amy. “Amy, try to take Rory out again but when she appears this time show her your ring. She may be virtual but she's intelligent. You can't do anything without her consent,” he explained.

Amy took a deep breath and nodded, turning back to Rory’s life support as the Doctor directed his attention back to Ariel.

The brunette turned and placed the gas mask to the side before flashing a soft smile at the Doctor. “Hi,” she muttered.

“Hello,” the Doctor grinned.

He pulled into another kiss and when he pulled away, he brushed the hair from her faze and gazed lovingly into her stormy grey eyes. 

“What was that light thing that you stuck your hand inside?” Ariel wondered with a small frown.

“Consent form. I signed it by putting my hand inside it,” the Doctor explained. “I had to take full responsibility of you.”

“Full responsibility, huh?” Ariel smirked. “So, you’re basically my caretaker now?”

“If you like,” the Doctor grinned as he shrugged to her.

“Doctor!” Amy called. “What do I do?” She asked, gesturing to the Siren standing before her with the same ring of light the Doctor stuck his hand in.

“Consent form. Sign it. Put your hand in the light. Rory's sick. You have to take full responsibility,” the Doctor explained.

Amy hesitated but nodded and stuck her hand into the light and with that, the Siren disappeared. 

After she did so, the Doctor helped Ariel down off the mattress and they both walked over to Amy just in time to watch the redhead turn of Rory’s life support. 

Rory sat up with a large gasp and struggled for breath as the monitors screamed out of control at his rising heart rate.

“He can't breathe!” the Doctor cried. “Turn it back on!” He yelled and Amy immediately switched the life support back on allowing Rory to fall back with a sigh.

“What do we do?” Amy mumbled, staring helplessly at her unconscious husband. “I can't just leave him here.”

“He looked minutes from death,” Ariel muttered. “We wouldn’t have enough time to take him out and bring him to a proper hospital.”

Amy glanced desperately between the Doctor and Ariel before taking a shaky breath and flipping a few switches to wake Rory up.

“Rory?” Amy prompted, her voice soft and barely audible as she spoke to him, gently tapping his cheek to awaken him. “Rory, wake up.”

With a sharp gasp, Rory woke up and glanced around in confusion with a small frown as he took in his surroundings. “Where am I?” He breathed, grabbing Amy’s hand and squeezing tightly. 

“You're in a hospital,” the Doctor answered.

“The Siren was actually a doctor. She took all the injured and brought them here to try and help them,” Ariel explained, holding up her stitched up hand as evidence. “Some cases were easy, but you on the other hand,” she trailed off with a wince. “She’s keeping you stable right now.”

“If you leave, you might die,” the Doctor informed him and Rory’s eyes widened for a single moment, flashing with worry and fear.

“But if you don't, you'll have to stay forever,” Amy said, further complicating the situation for Rory. The Siren was keeping him stable, sure, but if they couldn’t find some way to get him out of there alive he would have to stay in the sick bay with her forever just to stay alive.

“You’re saying if I don’t get up now,” Rory began with a small frown.

“You can never leave,” Amy confirmed with a nod.

“You’ll be stuck here for the rest of your life being treated for drowning,” Ariel explained.

“The Siren will keep you safe,” the Doctor assured him.

“And if I come with you?” Rory implored, raising a brow at the trio watching him with such concern.

“Drowning, on the point of death,” the Doctor answered plainly.

“Far too bad for us to be able to get you to a hospital in time,” Ariel sighed, leaning against the doctor as the very gravity of the situation sunk into her bones. Her best friend was facing an impossible situation and she could very well risk losing him forever. In times like these the Doctor was her support structure that she could lean against and regain balance in a world that felt as though it was spinning far too fast for her to even try and keep up.

Rory’s face brightened as he realized the very fact none of them had accounted for. “I’m a nurse,” he mumbled.

“What?” Amy frowned, unsure of where he was going with stating his profession.

“I can teach you how to save me,” Rory informed her with an adamant nod and Ariel was certain all three of them bore the same frozen expressions of shock and terror intermingling.

“Whoa,” Amy gasped, holding her hand out as she slowly came crashing out of her shock. “Hold on.”

“Rory, you do realize outside of this life support you’re about a couple minutes from death, right?” Ariel implored with a raised brow. She wasn’t certain he was quite grasping the reality of how close to death he was. He couldn’t just hand off a task like that to someone who was terrified and had no idea what she was doing.

Ariel loved Amy and she knew in any other circumstance if the redhead got the chance she’d be more than capable of saving her husband’s life. However, she was going to have little to no prep time, hardly any practice, and mere minutes to resuscitate Rory successfully. It would be far too stressful for almost anyone to cope.

“I was drowning,” Rory nodded, confirming that he understood the gravity of the situation. “You just have to resuscitate me,” he said, shrugging as best he could as he was laying down on the mattress.

Amy scoffed and glanced at Ariel with wide eyes, praying the brunette would confirm how crazy her husband sounded. He spoke about resuscitation as though it were as easy as putting on your shoes. 

“Just?” Amy muttered. She felt extremely ill prepared for the task her husband was asking of her. She wanted to keep him alive, but she didn’t know if she could do it in these circumstances. She sincerely wished he would ask the Doctor or Ariel to do this for him. She was certain they would be able to keep him alive without screwing it up.

“You've seen them do it loads of times in films,” Rory reminded her with a reassuring nod. “CPR. The kiss of life.”

“Rory, this isn’t a film, okay?” Amy huffed. “What if I do it wrong?” She implored desperately, her fears seeping through and baring themselves for her ill husband to see.

“You won’t,” Rory assured her, a steadiness in his voice that Amy wasn’t certain she deserved with her poor level of preparation.

“Okay, what if you don't come back to life?” Amy proposed, far more fear and anxiety racing through her mind. “What if-?” She began, starting to allow her worries to get the best of her.

“I trust you,” Rory promised, holding up a hand to stop her before her fear took control of her mind and kept her from doing it.

“What about him?” Amy offered, nodding to the Doctor, who’s face fell at the sight of them both looking to him amidst the discussion of bringing Rory back to life. “Or her?” She said, waving towards Ariel, who raised her hands in surrender and backed away. 

“I’m not involved in this,” Ariel mumbled. 

The Doctor chuckled and nodded in agreement as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked away to meet Henry as the captain looked over his son rather than be involved in whether or not he and his wife could bring Rory back to life.

“I mean, why do I have to be the one?” Amy implored desperately, searching the eyes of her husband for some sort of answer. “Why do I have to save you?” She asked, her voice cracking with the weight of the task as she spoke.

“Because I know you'll never give up,” Rory said simply, a small smile gracing his lips as he looked into the helpless eyes of his wife.

Amy let out a shaky breath and kept her gaze fixed on Rory for what might as well have been ages.

Finally, she nodded and closed her eyes. “Okay,” she conceded. “Okay, tell me what I need to do.”

Meanwhile, across the room, the Doctor and Ariel stood arm in arm by Henry’s side as he looked over his still unconscious son.

“What’s going to happen to him?” Henry mumbled, his voice not daring to wander above a whisper as he spoke to the Doctor as though that might prevent the inevitable from being voiced.

“I’m so sorry,” the Doctor sighed. There was no delicate way to tell Henry what he needed to hear. “Typhoid fever. Once he returns it's only a matter of time,” he shrugged.

Ariel spared a sad glance toward the captain as he hung his head in defeat over his son’s bed. She had never known the feeling of losing a child, but she knew it was a million times worse than losing a parent. Sure, both were rough but she couldn’t even begin to imagine the pain of having a being that was partly you and the person you loved most in the world and watching them die. That was heartache she hoped she never had to endure.

“What if I stay with him, here?” Henry proposed, looking to the couple with a newfound brightness in his eyes. “The Siren will look after him,” he muttered. “I can't go back to England. And what home does he have now, if not with me?” He wondered with a nonchalant shrug, silently crossing his fingers and praying they would say it was a good idea. 

The Doctor and Ariel shared and look and he raised a brow at her.

“Where did we land again?” Ariel asked with a small frown. “What time is this?”

“Summer of 1714,” the Doctor answered cooly.

“Right then,” Ariel nodded. She cast a single glance back at Henry as he moved to his son’s bedside and smiled. “This is around the time Henry Avery and his crew mysteriously disappeared. I’ve read a couple theories about it from different people, but if he were to stay here, it would fit into history.”

“Brilliant,” the Doctor smiled. They walked back up to Henry and the Doctor clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Do you think you can sail this thing?” He prompted with a raised brow and smirk.

Henry barked out an ecstatic laugh and pulled the Doctor into a warm hug.

“The Siren can’t stay on Earth can she?” Ariel assumed with a small frown.

“No, we have to send this ship back into space,” the Doctor agreed, nodding to her. “Imagine if the Siren got ashore,” he sighed. “She would have to process every injured human.”

“So, if you captain this thing, you’ll have to fly it into space,” Ariel warned Henry. “Do you think you can do that?” She implored.

“Just point me to the atom accelerator,” Henry shrugged, smirking at the couple and making them both laugh delightfully.

Across the room, Rory had just finished talking Amy through his own CPR and though she knew what to do, she was more scared than ever.

“I know you can do this,” Rory assured her, squeezing her hand tightly in his as he spoke. “Of course, if you muck it up I am going to be really cross. And dead,” he muttered, wincing at the word as it fell from his lips.

“Oh, that’s reassuring,” Ariel sighed, walking back over to them and placing a kind hand on Amy’s shoulder. “You’ve got this, Amy,” she promised giving a warm smile to her friend.

Amy returned the gesture and took a deep breath before nodding. “Okay,” she muttered. “I’ll see you in a minute.”

“See you in a minute,” Rory nodded.

The Doctor took off Rory’s restraints and after sending a firm nod to Amy, the redhead took a deep breath and turned off the life support. 

Ariel and Amy carried Rory into the Tardis in the corner of the sick bay and the Doctor held the door open for them. As soon as they placed Rory down, Amy began doing CPR.

The Doctor walked over to Ariel and she held his hand, squeezing tightly as they watched Amy do compressions. Amy did one breath do five compressions as Rory had taught her, her face wrought with desperations as she pinched his nose and huffed air into his lungs.

“Come on,” the Doctor muttered, squeezing Ariel’s hand so tight her hand turned white. “Come on, Rory. Not here. Not this way. Not today,” he begged.

They could see Amy beginning to give up, as her compressions grew slower and tears stung the edges of her eyes. Rory was not waking up and made no apparent movements that might tell them he was even close to waking up. It seemed the longer Amy carried on going at it, the more she was just doing CPR on a lifeless body.

“He trusted me,” Amy sobbed, falling backwards where she sat beside Rory, her tone burning with hopelessness. “He trusted me to save him,” she mumbled, unable to wash away the feeling that she had let down her husband.

“You still can,” the Doctor insisted, pressing a hand against her back and practically shoving her down to carry on performing CPR on Rory. “You can still do this. He believes in you. Come on, Amy. Come on!” He cried.

Amy sucked in a sharp breath and nodded furiously, allowing the Doctor’s words to provide the strength she needed to carry on doing the compressions no matter how hopeless it may seem.

“He trusted you to do this because he knew you, out of all of us, would never give up,” Ariel reminded the redhead. “Don’t prove him wrong by stopping now.”

Amy nodded solemnly and pinched Rory’s nose before huffing out air into his lungs once again. She moved to continue compressions, swallowing the sob that weighed heavy in her chest when the only movement she saw in him was made by her compressions. “Please, please, please wake up,” she begged. “Wake up. Wake up. Come on. Come on.”

She wanted to be wrong about the way things were seeming. She didn’t want to give up, but every second that passed without him opening his eyes and smiling at her felt like it was draining on her soul.

She glanced back as she moved to give him another breath and spotted the Doctor and Ariel already considering this a loss. 

Ariel had her head buried in the Doctor’s chest, clinging to him tightly and he had his eyes closed as he combed his fingers through her hair. Their faces were both wrought with devastation and Amy couldn’t help but wish to join them.

She felt silly carrying on compressing when it was so obvious he wasn’t coming back. She had failed him. He believed that she could save him and she simply couldn’t do it. Of all the things he had done for her, she wanted to scream at herself for not being able to do this one thing for him.

It was simply really when compared to the tasks he had done just because he loved her, and yet she was unable to do it.

She finally fell back with a sigh, allowing silent tears to stream down her cheeks as she accepted her defeat. She turned towards the Doctor and Ariel, still hugging each other tightly, and found herself yearning to join that hug if only to find some physical comfort after what she had just failed to accomplish.

At least, that was what she thought until Rory turned to his side and began roughly coughing up some of the water that had flooded his lungs when he fell into the ocean.

Amy immediately jumped to her feet, helping him turn to his side to get the water out of his lungs while simultaneously wanting to sob with the flood of joy and relief that overwhelmed her senses.

Ariel too jumped to her feet, immediately allowing the tears of joy to stream down her cheeks as she raced to the other side of Rory and grinned victoriously over his body.

“Amy,” Rory gasped, cupping his wife’s cheek and grinning at her. “Amy, you did it. You did it!” He cried, beaming at the redhead as she choked back an ecstatic sob.

They all glanced around, laughing and crying with joy at the fact that they would not be mourning Rory’s loss tonight but rather celebrating Amy’s success in reviving her husband.

After all, a trip where nobody died was quite rare.

~~~

Ariel sat back in the jumpseat as Amy and Rory happily flirted with each other and her husband flew the Tardis to a new location somewhere in the universe. 

“I thought I was an excellent pirate,” Amy muttered, shrugging to her husband and almost daring him to contradict her words.

Rory, however, just smiled at her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his chest.

“I thought you were an excellent nurse,” Rory mumbled, nosing away some stray strands of hair from her face.

“Oh, easy, tiger,” Amy muttered, grinning as her eyes darted between his eyes and lips before slowly lowering her lips to his.

“Oh, you guys,” Ariel huffed, placing a finger in her book to mark her page before turning to them with the irritation of a disgruntled parent waiting up for her child on a date running late. “You do realize you have a room you could be doing this in, right? We have rules about this sort of thing.”

“Please,” Amy scoffed, rolling her eyes at the brunette. “As though you and the Doctor have ever honored that rule,” she huffed, sparing no time for the hypocrisy of her friend’s words.

“We have after the lower deck incident,” Ariel insisted. 

Rory winced and turned away from Ariel at the very mention of the incident he had the misfortune of walking in on. “Please don’t,” he mumbled. “I still have nightmares,” he sighed.

Ariel rolled her eyes and the Doctor fought hard to cover his snickers but failed tremendously. 

“Whatever,” Ariel huffed. “We’ve still abided by the rules ever since you set them. That means the two of you don’t get a free pass,” she warned the pair.

“Fine,” Amy sighed. “Goodnight, Ariel. Goodnight, Doctor,” she said, taking Rory’s hand in her own and headed towards the staircase.

“Goodnight, Amelia,” the Doctor said, tossing a smile in the direction of the redhead.

Amy stopped in her tracks to turn and frown at the Doctor. “You only call me Amelia when you're worrying about me,” she said, her suspicion creeping through into her tone when she addressed the Doctor.

“I always worry about you,” the Doctor scoffed.

Amy paused and frowned for a moment, possibly thinking of something to determine the accuracy of the Doctor’s words. When she looked back up to meet his gaze, she just sighed softly.

“Mutual,” she nodded, and with that, she dismissed the Doctor’s concern and waved goodnight to Ariel before heading to bed with R0ory by her side.

Once Rory and Amy headed up the steps, Ariel placed her book on the jumpseat and walked up to the Doctor’s side. 

“What is it?” She asked, knowing that even if he didn’t tell Amy, he would always tell her.

“Look,” the Doctor sighed, revealing the scanner with Amy’s data beside it.

He was scanning her body and apparently the body scanner could not work out whether or not she was pregnant. It continuously flipped between pregnant and not so many times Ariel began to get a headache just looking at it.

“You said Amy’s pregnancy results were inconclusive,” the Doctor sighed. “Now we know why,” he mumbled.

“Oh, God,” Ariel breathed, unsure of just how to process the information before her. 

“There’s got to be something behind this,” the Doctor insisted, pushing the scanner away so neither of them would be forced to continue to look at it. “And I intend to find out what it is.”

“Should we tell Amy?” Ariel wondered with a raised brow.

“No,” the Doctor shook his head furiously. “Heavens, no, can you imagine the panic she’d be in?”

“Well, rightfully so,” Ariel sighed, gesturing back towards the abandoned scanner. 

“Yes, but no,” the Doctor said. “No, we have to figure this out for ourselves. We’ll only tell her once we’ve worked out whether or not this is actually something she should concern herself with.”

“I suppose if she actually is pregnant this will only worsen things,” Ariel mumbled, wincing as she glanced back at the scanner.

“Right,” the Doctor nodded firmly.

“Well, whatever this is, we have to work it out fast,” Ariel sighed, raking her fingers through her hair as her mind jumped into action. “She’s still panicking about the pregnancy and I doubt she’ll be willing to wait long to figure it out. I mean I already suggested that she go to the hospital and get a proper pregnancy test.”

“We’ll stall her,” the Doctor assured her with a nod. “I mean how hard can it be to stall someone when you have all of time and space at your disposal?” He smirked.

“Very hard when we also have to be working out what’s wrong with her,” Ariel reminded him with a sigh.

“Well, we’ll just start tonight,” the Doctor shrugged, already setting controls on the console to pick a destination. “They’ve gone to bed. We’ve got no time to lose.”

“I’d love to, but I’m exhausted,” Ariel huffed. “Start without me and I’ll join you when I can,” she said.

“Alright,” the Doctor smiled. “Love you,” he said, leaning forward and kissing her sweetly.

“Love you too,” Ariel grinned. “Night!” She called as she marched up the stairs.

“Goodnight!”


	9. Small Bump

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's not technically Monday, but I really wanted to upload this. Also, side note, I am now uploading original stories to fictionpress so if you'd like to read any non-fandom stories of mine, here's the link: https://www.fictionpress.com/u/1114402/Jessica-Miller1

Her stomach rolled as though she were on a roller coaster ride she had certainly not signed on for. She shot up in the bed with large eyes and fought the urge to vomit right on the sheets.

Instead, she tossed the sheets off her furiously and stumbled onto the floor, scrambling for the door to the toilet. She practically tore down the door to get to the toilet, collapsing onto the ground and tossing up all the contents of her stomach into the porcelain bowl.

She groaned as she revisited her last few meals in agony and furiously combed her hair out of her face so none of the sick would get on it. 

When it was over, she sighed as she flushed the toilet and collapsed onto the cool tiled floors.

It only took her a few moments to compose herself before fear washed over her senses. She jumped up off the floor and immediately began tearing apart the contents of the cupboard by the sink until she found the tests.

Luckily, she had saved a few after giving most of her stock to Amy.

She grabbed a fistful of pregnancy tests and slammed the door shut, locking it as she prepared herself for what she hoped she would never have to face again.

The very real fear that she may be having a kid with the Doctor. 

As she was in the middle of taking the tests, there was a soft knock at the door.

“Ariel?” Rory’s voice echoed inside the small room, making the brunette groan in frustration. “Are you in there? I saw you run inside a bit ago. I need- I need to go,” he mumbled awkwardly.

“Use the one by your room!” Ariel barked, holding no patience for a man that had a toilet right next to his bedroom. 

“Amy’s in there,” Rory sighed. “C’mon Ariel I saw you go in nearly ten minutes ago. How long do you need?”

“What are you timing me now?!” Ariel exclaimed, rolling her eyes as she finished another test and put it on the sink.

She planned to read the results all at once, rather than several small heart attacks with possibly positive sticks one after the other.

“No, I’m not- I just- look what’s taking so long?” Rory moaned, his attempt at being polite overshadowed by his desperation to use the toilet.

“I’ll be just a minute,” Ariel sighed. “There are other toilets in this bloody Tardis, you know that right?”

“Yeah, but the other one’s upstairs and I don’t feel like walking up-,” Rory began.

“Oh, just use the other one!” Ariel snapped, slamming the last pregnancy test down on the sink. “I’m going to be a while.”

“What are you doing?” Rory moaned.

“Do you really want the full story right now?” Ariel prompted, raising a brow at the closed door. 

“On second thought, probably not,” Rory muttered. “I’m gonna go use the other toilet,” he mumbled.

“Good call,” Ariel sighed. 

She heard the sound of his feet running down the corridor and chuckled softly as she rolled her eyes and turned to the sink.

She took a deep breath and crossed her fingers. “Please don’t let this be happening. Please don’t let this be happening. Please don’t let this be happening,” she begged nobody in particular.

Sure, she wanted a kid with the Doctor, but she had hardly gotten a chance to get used to being married to him. A kid would just confuse things for her.

Her heart pumped loudly in her ears as she glanced down at the tests, all of which were slowly revealing her results.

Five different tests laid out across the sink that held her fate in their hands.

She took a deep breath and turned to look through the results. 

Positive, positive, positive, negative, positive.

“Shit!” Ariel hissed, spinning around and rubbing her hands over her eyes so roughly she began to see spots. 

She knew automatically she’d be more than willing to keep the kid, but she wasn’t sure if she was ready. The Doctor would be ecstatic of course. He had experience with this sort of thing and was prepared to be a father at any time. 

She sucked in a sharp breath and closed her eyes. It would be okay. She was terrified of having a baby, but she knew it would be okay because she wasn’t alone in this. She had the greatest group of people in the world to back her every decision and she had people with loads of experience in this, more than ready to help should she say the word.

If she had been in this same boat just three years ago, she would have gone mad with the panic. 

Every single worst case scenario would be running through her mind because the only person she’d have on her side to support her would be her mother and maybe a father of the baby. 

She had no idea how to raise a kid and she certainly didn’t know if she could ever be a good mother for a baby, but she did know that now that she had the greatest group of friends and a fantastic husband to back her, she would be alight.

Taking a deep breath, she emptied the pregnancy tests into the bin by the toilet and turned to the door.

Before she told anyone else or messaged anybody she knew, she had to tell the Doctor. 

She headed out the door and marched down the corridor towards the console room. 

On her way, without even noticing, she ran face first into the body of a certain redhead.

“Ow!” Both girls cried as they fell back a few steps with the impact.

Amy smirked when she noticed it was Ariel bumping into her and not one of the men on the ship. “Caught up in your own head again?” She guessed.

“Something like that,” Ariel shrugged. “But nevermind that, I have to go see the Doctor,” she said, walking away before Amy could pull her into conversation.

“Wait, hold on!” Amy exclaimed, grabbing the arm of the brunette and pulling her back over. “You still haven’t told me whether or not you think I should take time off from the Doctor for the pregnancy test.”

“Well, what did Rory say?” Ariel asked with a frown, momentarily forgetting her own affairs with the arisal of her friend’s concerns.

“He said he doesn’t know,” Amy sighed, her frustration with that response evident in her very tone. “He claims it’s up to me and whatever I think is best, but how should I know what’s best? Nothing like this has ever happened before. At least not that I know of,” she mumbled.

Ariel frowned, thinking of what the Doctor told her they should do if Amy ever brought up getting a proper pregnancy test. “I’d give it some time,” she suggested with a small shrug.

“Really?” Amy frowned. “Back on the pirate ship you were all for getting this thing checked out as soon as possible.”

“I know, but now that I think about it, you should give your body some time,” Ariel proposed. “Maybe it’s stressed and all your chemicals are out of balance or whatever the proper biology explanation is for what our bodies do,” she sighed. “Just, give it some time and stay on the Tardis. We can go on some trips and when you think it’s been long enough, you can take the pregnancy tests again and see what they say.”

Amy glanced down and thought on Ariel’s words and the brunette crossed her fingers in her mind, praying Amy wouldn’t hear the tone of lies and desperation to keep her on board in her voice. 

Luckily, she didn’t and rather than contradict Ariel’s words, she nodded and smiled softly at the brunette. 

“Okay,” Amy decided. “That sounds good,” she nodded. “Besides, I didn’t really want to leave the Tardis just yet anyway,” she smirked.

“Alright, brilliant,” Ariel grinned. “Now, if you’ll excuse me I really have to see the Doctor,” she insisted.

“Oh, right, yeah, of course,” Amy nodded and stepped to the side so Ariel could leave. “Do me a favor and put in a request for an alien planet with him while you’re there?”

“No problem,” Ariel smiled, and with that, she headed down the corridor to the Doctor.

She walked down the steps and the Doctor stood where he always was before the controls, jumping around as though he were a child himself, endlessly giddy with the different functions of his spaceship.

Ariel smiled as she watched him and paused in the middle of the staircase, just marvelling at the man she had fallen in love with and married.

She always enjoyed thinking what a past version of herself might make of the life she had now. 

A girl who was once so alone and so timid to do anything remotely interesting, traveling across all of time and space with an alien she would fall hopelessly in love with and marry.

It was certainly not the most traditional story to tell grandkids, but she couldn’t imagine a life where she could be any happier than she was now.

She was never fit to work those mind numbing jobs that kept you behind a desk most of your life. She never wanted to have a husband that barely paid her any mind and a marriage where they quickly fell out of love with each other but never found the energy to suggest divorce.

She fell in love with the Doctor more and more everyday and she found herself endlessly happy with the knowledge that he felt the very same way.

She thought back on the words from Prince Albert that made her as a little girl dream of the perfect love. 

_ A love like ours could burn down a city. _

She knew, after a lifetime of searching a dreaming, she had finally found the love she felt that with.

She let out a soft, almost dreamy sigh as she headed down the steps toward her greatest crush. 

The Doctor spun around and his eyes grew wide with surprise at her sudden presence, but a large grin split across her face at the sight of her. “I thought you were still asleep,” he mumbled.

“I was, but I-er,” Ariel winced, shifting awkwardly and shoving her sleeves down her arms as though to hide herself from view.

The Doctor noticed quickly and rather than telling her to stop, he took her hands in his own and squeezed them tightly. “What’s wrong?” He asked, his voice calm and soft, not demanding or angry.

Ariel smiled softly and gazed up into his sparkling green eyes. After a lifetime of so many people who hurt her and belittled her and made her terrified to live inside her own skin, she finally found someone she felt at home with.

When she met his eyes, she always felt an overwhelming sense of comfort and relaxation. In his arms, she felt safe and standing before him, she knew she could tell him her news without a single moment of doubt or concern. As long as she stood by his side, everything would be okay.

Ariel took a deep breath looked up at him. “I’m pregnant,” she announced.

The Doctor’s eyes grew wide and for a single moment, he froze. That was until absolute joy washed across his face and soon enough he was beaming at her and pulling her into his arms.

He hugged her tightly before lifting her up and spinning her happily, their delighted laughs intermingling and rising into pure ecstacy.

“I don’t want to put a damper on things but this might not be very good for the baby,” Ariel announced.

The Doctor gasped and she was quickly placed back on the ground, making her giggle softly and shake her head at him.

“I knew you’d take it brilliantly,” Ariel hummed. 

“You’re pregnant?!” the Doctor exclaimed.

“Yes,” Ariel laughed, nodding happily. 

“You’re pregnant,” he gasped. “We’re pregnant!” He cried.

“Technically, the person is growing inside of me, but-.”

“You have a person growing inside of you!” the Doctor yelled, his eyes wide as he glanced down at her stomach. “There’s a baby in there!”

“Well, it’s probably the size of an apple now, but sure,” Ariel smiled. “There’s a baby in there.”

“Do you know how far along you are?” the Doctor asked with a small frown. 

“I can only guess,” Ariel shrugged. “A rough estimate would be about three months? Especially since I’ve only really started to feel symptoms,” she mumbled.

“You say that like you’ve been pregnant before,” the Doctor chuckled softly.

“Oh, blimey no,” Ariel gasped. “I’ve just seen a lot of teen mothers at school and I wasn’t the only time my mother was pregnant.”

“I can’t say I’m surprised,” the Doctor confessed.

“Neither was I,” Ariel shook her head. “She partied a lot and always seemed to get mixed up with the worst kinds of guys. Guys that refused to use protection.”

“But she never wanted to have another kid?” the Doctor frowned.

“I think after I told her about assisting my Dad’s suicide, she had decided that I was more than enough to handle,” Ariel sighed.

“But didn’t she tell you that you couldn’t have kids?” the Doctor remembered.

“Yep,” Ariel nodded. “She also told me that Christmas was a sham and I wasn’t supposed to celebrate my birthday every year. I decided when we got serious that I probably should have a backup plan in case that was also a lie.”

The Doctor chuckled softly. “She did love you though.”

“Yeah, and I loved her too,” Ariel sighed. “I doubt any parent knows what to do in the circumstance she got tossed into,” she shrugged. “But that’s alright, because I’m gonna be a better mother.”

“Yes, you are,” the Doctor grinned. He pulled her into a tight hug and kissed the top of her head.

As he held her, Amy and Rory came down the steps immersed in conversation of topics neither Ariel or the Doctor could pay attention to properly with their revelation.

“Hey, good you’re both here,” Amy sighed. “I was just saying to Rory how I don’t think we’ve ever taken him to the future on another planet,” she smiled. “I think he could do with seeing the future of humanity for himself.”

“Yeah, all I’ve heard are these bits and pieces and apparently humans being with aliens is way more common in the future,” Rory hummed.

Amy froze at the bottom of the stairs, frowning at Ariel and the Doctor as they turned to her with mysteriously large grins.

“Okay, what’s happened?” Amy sighed. “Why do you two look like those creepy dolls you see in movies that won’t stop smiling at you?”

Ariel laughed and shook her head. “I’m just- I’m having a baby!” She exclaimed.

Amy’s eyes grew wide and like the Doctor, her shock quickly transformed into complete joy.

“Wha-congratulations!” Amy cried, rushing to pull her friend into a tight hug.

“I thought you said you couldn’t get pregnant,” Rory frowned, not quite reaching the happiness the others had found so soon.

“Yeah, way past that now,” Ariel sighed, dismissing the matter with a wave of her hand. “Long story short, my Mum lied to me and I think the doctor we saw about this,” she said, pointing down to her stomach. “Was just one of the guys she partied with which meant he was not sober enough to tell me the future of my potential family.”

“Ah, well congrats,” Rory smiled, pulling Ariel into a hug. “I never thought I’d see the day you and the Doctor both started growing up,” he chuckled.

“Oi!” the Doctor snapped. “I’ve had kids.”

“And a grandkid,” Ariel reminded him with a raised brow. “Though she’s happy on Earth with David,” she shrugged.

“You had a granddaughter?!” Rory exclaimed, his eyes wide as he glanced at the Doctor.

“Oh, right,” Amy winced. “Did I not tell you that?”

“Hold on, so everyone knew you had a grandkid except for me?” Rory frowned, glancing between Ariel and Amy.

“Pretty much,” Ariel shrugged.

“Yep,” Amy nodded.

Rory glanced at the three of them and sighed, hanging his head and accepting the fact that he was destined to be the last to know most of the information circling around the Tardis.

“You just-,” Rory muttered, looking up and eyeing the Doctor curiously. “You don’t seem like a grandfather.”

“Oi, I’m nine hundred and eleven,” the Doctor scoffed. 

“With the face of a twelve year old,” Amy reminded him with a raised brow.

“Anyway,” Ariel huffed, beaming at her closest friends all surrounding her. “I wanna go somewhere now,” she said, spinning back around to the Doctor. “Can we go to an alien planet?”  She asked and Amy grinned.

“Of course,” the Doctor hummed, immediately marching over to the console and toying with the controls. “But just know once you get more pregnant, we’ll have to-.”

“I know,” Ariel smiled and nodded. “Rest assured, I won’t be wanting to run down corridors from different aliens when I’m six months pregnant,” she chuckled and Amy scoffed at the very idea.

“What will you do then?” Rory wondered with a small frown.

“I’ll probably go hang out with Jack or Sarah Jane during the days while you lot are running from whatever’s trying to destroy the planet,” Ariel smiled. “I’ll come back on the Tardis around my due date,” she said with a shrug.

“Brilliant,” the Doctor grinned, happy that she was able to come with a plan that was smart and didn’t end in them being separated for months until she gave birth. He didn’t know if he could handle being away from her for so long even if it met he’d have a beautiful baby to care for at the end of it. “Now, one alien planet coming up,” he announced with a smirk. “Hold on,” he advised and with that, he pulled the lever and sent them flying.


	10. The Planet Outside the Universe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love Idris. She's so quirky and fun and honestly she made me have such a greater appreciation for the Tardis.

“And then we discovered it wasn't the Robot King after all, it was the real one,” the Doctor laughed as Ariel walked in and handed him his milkshake before taking a seat on the jumpseat beside Rory. “Fortunately, I was able to re-attach the head,” he smirked.

“Do you believe any of this stuff?” Rory muttered to Ariel. He didn’t believe all of the Doctor’s stories were true. Some were so fantastical and out there that they just had to be made up.

“I was there,” Ariel scoffed, smirking as Rory’s eyes grew wide. She got up and walked over to the Doctor’s side while Rory headed over to Amy.

“Are you sure you’re up for another trip?” the Doctor mumbled, his concern over her state of being only spiking with her pregnancy.

“I’ll be fine,” Ariel assured him with a smile. “After all, how bad can one trip get?”  She wondered with a small shrug. Sure, life with the Doctor was dangerous but so far they hadn’t found a thing they couldn’t handle together.

The Doctor smiled softly at her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders as he carried on flying the ship.

“Oh, it's the warning lights,” the Doctor muttered bitterly while Ariel laughed. “I'm getting rid of those. They never stop,” he huffed.

“This is why River and I prefer to fly the Tardis,” Ariel chuckled, flicking off the warning lights for him.

Meanwhile, as Rory walked over to Amy’s side and followed her line of sight, he sighed as he noticed his wife was still caught in her distress over the death of the Doctor.

Since Ariel’s announcement of her pregnancy, everytime Amy seemed to look at the Doctor, her face seemed to be worn with stress and fear. 

“You're still thinking about it, aren't you?” Rory sighed, growing exhausted with her constant worry over an event hundreds of years in the future.

“Oh, shush,” Amy hissed, sensing his weary tone and knowing he was going to tell her to quit with her anxieties once again. “We saw him die,” she reminded her husband.

“Yeah, two hundred years in the future,” Rory muttered. “Ariel’s not worried about it so we shouldn’t be.”

“Yes, but if she has a kid that’s part Time Lord, who’s to say they won’t be alive to see their father die?” Amy wondered, glancing to her husband with a small frown.

“If that’s the case then we should leave that up to her to figure out,” Rory sighed. “She was there to see him die as well,” he reminded her.

“I know,” Amy mumbled. “I just hope some kid doesn’t have to go through their father dying alone.”

All of a sudden, there was a strange knocking on the Tardis door making silence fall and all heads turn to the noise with large eyes. 

“What was that?” Amy breathed, her voice not rising above a worried whisper.

“The door,” the Doctor mumbled, his brows furrowed in confusion as his eyes remained locked on the Tardis doors. “It knocked.”

“How is that possible?” Ariel wondered.

“Right,” Rory nodded, the question on the tip of his tongue being voiced by Ariel. “We are in deep space,” he said. 

“Very, very deep,” the Doctor agreed, slowly tiptoeing towards the door as though it might jump out and bite him. “And somebody’s knocking,” he hummed. 

With only a moment of hesitation, the Doctor flung open the doors and they all frowned at the sight of a small glowing box hovering outside the door as though waiting for the Doctor to open up.

The Doctor’s face brightened automatically and he beamed at the small box as though it was a package he had been waiting to receive for ages.

“Oh, come here,” the Doctor hummed, waving the small box inside. “Come here, you scrumptious little beauty,” he grinned.

The box did just that and within second it swerved into the Tardis and knocked the Doctor right in the chest making him fall to the ground, but as he did so, he snatched the box from the air so he held it tightly as he laid on the Tardis floor, giving the trio behind him a chance to get a better look at the source of the mysterious knock on the door.

“A box?” Rory observed with a small frown.

“How can a box knock on the door?” Ariel wondered. “And why did you look so happy to see it?” She implored with a raised brow as the Doctor scrambled up off the ground and held the box tightly in his hands with a large grin.

“Doctor, what is it?” Amy asked, unsure of why he was celebrating the presence of a box.

“I’ve got mail,” the Doctor breathed, looking up at the trio like a kid on Christmas morning.

“Who from?” Ariel asked. “And why is the mail in some weird glowing box?”

“Time Lord emergency messaging system,” the Doctor explained as he closed the doors with a small smile before heading up to the console to plug the box into it. “In an emergency, we'd wrap up thoughts in psychic containers and send them through time and space,” he told the group. “Anyway, there's a living Time Lord still out there, and it's one of the good ones,” he hummed.

The trio shared wary frowns, unsure of who should be the first to remind the Doctor that the Time Lords were all gone.

Eventually, Rory took the leap and said it so Ariel and Amy wouldn’t have to.

“You said there weren't any other Time Lords left,” Rory reminded the Doctor, his tone tentative as though he were slowly tiptoeing towards an explosive that might go off at any minute.

“There are no Time Lords left anywhere in the universe,” the Doctor agreed with a nod. “But the universe isn't where we're going,” he informed them. “See that snake?” He prompted, gesturing to a small symbol of a snake on the box.

They all stepped forward and peered at the image with identical frowns. 

“That’s the Ouroboros,” Ariel mumbled, pointing to the snake and glancing at other three around her. “The snake swallowing its own tail.”

“Also known as the mark of the Corsair,” the Doctor nodded. “Fantastic bloke,” he smirked. “He had that snake as a tattoo in every regeneration. Didn't feel like himself unless he had the tattoo. Or herself, a couple of times,” he shrugged. “Ooo, she was a bad girl,” he hummed and Ariel’s eyes grew wide.

The Doctor faltered when he saw her glare and winced. 

“It was the second face,” he assured her with a small shrug. “Ages ago.”

“Mmm,” Ariel said, not bothering to voice her jealousy but not hiding her displeasure for a second.

The Doctor heaved a deep sigh and raked his fingers through his hair. “I’m going to pay for that one tonight,” he muttered as he marched up to the console and plugged the box into it.

“When you said leaving the universe,” Amy said with a small frown. “What did you mean?”

All of a sudden, as though to answer her question, things on the console began going bang and Ariel was thrown backwards into the jumpseat as everything sparked.

“Oh, what is happening?!” Rory exclaimed, clinging tightly to the console and his wife so neither of them were thrown back into the railings.

“We’re leaving the universe!” the Doctor announced, running about the Tardis to try and maintain the flight as best he could.

“How can you leave the universe?!” Amy cried.

“With enormous difficulty,” the Doctor groaned. “Right now I'm burning up Tardis rooms to give us some welly. Goodbye, swimming pool. Goodbye, scullery. Sayonara, squash court seven,” he said, flicking a switch on the Tardis with each respective dismissal.

“No, not the swimming pool,” Ariel moaned.

“It was either that or the garden,” the Doctor shrugged. “And I don’t think you want to say goodbye to Rufus that way,” he said and Ariel’s eyes grew wide.

“You’ve got a point there,” she mumbled.

All of the sudden, the Tardis cried out as though she were in pain before crashing to the ground with a rough thud. 

The Doctor rushed over to Ariel’s side and immediately checked on her while Rory checked on his own wife in the aftermath of the crash.

Once they got their bearings, Amy sighed softly though whether it was in relief of exhaustion, they couldn’t tell. 

“Okay, okay,” Amy nodded. “Where are we?” She asked as the Doctor walked Ariel over to the scanner so they could both see.

“Outside the universe,” the Doctor answered and they all glaned around with wide eyes at the revelation. “Where we've never, ever been,” he hummed.

“I wish I could be happy about that,” Ariel muttered. She wanted to be so excited about exploring an area she had never seen before, but something just wasn’t sitting right with her about this place. Something felt off and she was genuinely worried about what could happen when they stepped outside the Tardis.

All of a sudden, as though to confirm her fears, the lights of the Tardis flickered before shutting off completely and all that could be heard was the dull hum of the time rotors.

“Oh, my God,” Ariel breathed. 

“Is that meant to be happening?” Rory asked, the ever present hope apparent in his tone that this was all just meant to be happening and therefore they shouldn’t be afraid.

“The power, it's draining,” the Doctor muttered. He flicked through the controls and found everything was slowly slipping from his fingertips. “Everything's draining. But it can't. That's, that's impossible,” he stammered.

“What about the heart of the Tardis?” Ariel implored. “Y’know, Bad Wolf?” She reminded him, hoping that some bit of the Tardis could still be saved.

“I’ve got nothing,” the Doctor responded with a shake of his head and Ariel felt her heart plummet into her stomach.

“What is that?” Rory asked, referencing the ‘Bad Wolf’ Ariel mentioned.

“It's as if the Matrix, the soul of the Tardis, has just vanished,” the Doctor explained, flicking the controls furiously and desperately praying that something, anything, would work. “Where would it go?” He wondered.

Ariel sighed and placed her head down on the console. “Now, we absolutely have to go out there, don’t we?”

“I don’t see us getting any other way out of this,” the Doctor shrugged, flicking one of the controls on the console helplessly. “But proceed with absolute caution,” he advised the group. “We don;t know who or what we might be walking into,” he reminded them and they all nodded.

The Doctor wrapped his arm around Ariel and Rory took Amy’s hand and together the four of them headed outside straight into what looked to be a junkyard with a large crashed spaceship in the far distance.

“Lovely,” Ariel remarked sarcastically and the Doctor snorted and nodded.

“So what kind of trouble's your friend in?” Amy implored, turning to the Doctor with a raised brow and he paled.

“He was in a bind,” the Doctor mumbled, fidgeting awkwardly under the gazes of the trio around him. “A bit of a pickle. Sort of distressed,” he shrugged.

Ariel and Amy shared a laugh before falling into a fit of giggles. 

“No,” Ariel gasped sarcastically. “He’s distressed so he sent a distress signal? I never would have guessed.”

“You can just say you don’t know,” Amy informed him with a chuckle and the Doctor’s cheeks pinkened.

“But what is this place?” Rory asked with a small frown as he stepped forward and peered at their surroundings. “The scrap yard at the end of the universe?”

“Not end of,” the Doctor corrected. “Outside of.”

“How we can we be outside the universe?” Rory wondered. “The universe is everything,” he said with a shrug.

“Imagine a great big soap bubble with one of those tiny little bubbles on the outside,” the Doctor instructed.

“Okay,” Rory nodded, painting the image in his mind as the Doctor said.

“Well, it's nothing like that,” the Doctor dismissed and Ariel laughed as Rory’s face fell in disappointment. “Completely drained,” he sighed as he turned to the Tardis and began stroking the doors. “Look at her.”

“There’s got to be someway to fix her,” Ariel insisted, walking up to the Doctor’s side and glanced at the Tardis in concern. 

They were like two parents stressing over their ill child.

“Wait. So we're in a tiny bubble universe, sticking to the side of the bigger bubble universe?” Amy guessed with a frown.

“Yeah,” the Doctor nodded. “No. But if it helps, yes,” he sighed before turning his attention to Ariel. “This place is full of rift energy. She'll probably refuel just by being here,” he shrugged.

“That’s good, ‘cos I don’t think I could stand staying in this place the rest of my life,” Ariel murmured, casting an extremely unhappy glance across the junkyard. She did not want to face giving birth there.

“Right,” the Doctor nodded, clapping his hands together. “Now, this place. What do we think, eh? Gravity's almost Earth normal, air's breathable, but it smells like-,” he frowned as he sniffed the air and tried to place the smell.

“Armpits,” Ariel winced, sniffing the air as well.

“Armpits,” the Doctor echoed with a sigh that almost made it seem as though he was disappointed by the gruesome smell of the place. 

“What about all this stuff?” Rory asked, picking up some of the miscellaneous items discarded across the junkyard. “Where did this come from?” He wondered.

“Well, there's a rift,” the Doctor shrugged. “Now and then stuff gets sucked through it. Not a bubble, a plughole. The universe has a plughole and we've just fallen down it,” he explained.

“Ah, so it’s more like the drain at the bottom of a sink,” Ariel nodded in understanding and Rory and Amy’s faces brightened with clarity.

All of a sudden a strange woman in nineteenth century attire bolted forward and pounced onto the Doctor making all the others jump up with large eyes and the Doctor wince and cower away.

“Thief!” the woman cried. “Thief! You're my thief!”

“What?” Ariel frowned. By the look on the Doctor’s face, he had never seen this woman before in his life, so why would she jump on him and claim that not only she knew him, but that he was her “thief”?

A man and a woman with dirt marring their features and stout forms marched up, seeming exhausted with the woman and positively weary of her jumpy demeanor as they pulled her away from the Doctor.

“She's dangerous,” the woman warned. “Guard yourselves.”

“She doesn’t seem dangerous,” Ariel remarked with a small smile as the woman jumped on her next. “She just seems excitable,” she giggled.

“Oh, and you’re the other one aren’t you?” the woman gasped. “The one who replaced me. Or at least she wasn’t always me. Just a shadow,” she sighed. “Look at you. Oh, the pair of you,” she breathed, beaming at the Doctor and Ariel as though she had known them for ages but for the first time she was actually getting to see them in person. “Goodbye,” she smiled, but faltered when she realized that was not the word she was looking for. “No, not goodbye, what's the other one?”

Before she could answer her own question she jumped up and hugged the Doctor and Ariel tightly, completely blindsiding the pair of them.

“Watch out!” the man exclaimed, tugging the woman back once more. “Careful. Keep back from her,” he warned but the woman hardly seemed concerned with what he said. He threw on a welcoming smile once the woman was a safe distance from the group and sighed. “Welcome, strangers,” he greeted. “Lovely. Sorry about the mad person,” he apologized, nodding towards the woman.

The Doctor did not even care to process his greeting, instead he just frowned at the woman curiously. “Why am I a thief? What have I stolen?” He implored.

“Me,” the woman grinned as though that were obvious. “You're going to steal me. No, you have stolen me. You are stealing me. Oh tenses are difficult, aren't they?” She moaned.

“And who did I replace?” Ariel asked. “What do you mean she was you?”

“Oh, she was only just a shadow,” the woman shrugged. “She looked into me and I looked into her, briefly, but then again, you’ve stayed longer than she ever has,” she remarked. “Not that I mind, of course. You were always one of the better ones.”

“What does that  _ mean _ ?” Ariel sighed.

“Oh. Oh, we are sorry, my dove,” the woman with dirt across her face apologized for the strange woman. “She's off her head. They call me Auntie,” she introduced with a small smile introduced and held out a hand which Ariel did not shake.

“And I'm Uncle,” the man nodded. “I'm everybody's Uncle,” he shrugged. “Just keep back from this one,” he advised, nodding to the strange woman with a light chuckle. “She bites!”

“Do I?” the strange woman gasped, her eyes brightening at the concept. “Excellent,” she hummed. She rushed over to the Doctor and bit his ear making him cry out in pain.

“Oh, my God!” Ariel exclaimed, caught between laughter and horror as the woman jumped back and beamed at them. “She’s like a little kid.”

“Biting’s excellent,” the woman beamed. “It’s like kissing, only there’s a winner,” she hummed.

“So sorry,” Uncle sighed. “She’s doolally.”

“It’s quite alright,” Ariel nodded.

“No, I'm not doolally,” the woman frowned. “I'm, I'm. It's on the tip of my tongue.” Her train of thought slipped away and her eyes brightened as she realized something. “I've just had a new idea about kissing,” she grinned. “Come here, you,” she insisted, turning to grab the Doctor.

Ariel’s eyes grew wide and she stepped in front of him to stop her. “Oh, no, love. A bit too far.”

“No, Idris, no,” Auntie moaned at the strange woman.

“Oh, but now you're angry,” Idris recoiled from the pair. “No, you're not,” she frowned as she narrowed her eyes at the pair and they shared a confused glance. “You will be angry,” she corrected with a nod. “The little boxes will make you both so angry,” she told them and the Doctor’s face fell.

“Sorry? The little what? Boxes?” the Doctor implored, stepping forward and practically begging her to answer him.

Instead, she just tapped his chin and giggled. “Oh, ho, no. Your chin is hilarious,” she laughed. She turned to Rory and smiled kindly. “It means the smell of dust after rain,” she informed him.

“What does?” Rory frowned, glancing around, entirely blindsided by her new redirected attention to him. 

“Petrichor.”

“But I didn’t ask,” Rory told her with a shake of his head.

“Not yet,” the woman nodded. “But you will,” she promised him.

“No, no, Idris,” Auntie sighed, stepping forward and pulling the woman away from Rory. “I think you should have a rest.”

“Rest,” Idris gasped. “Yes, yes. Good idea,” she nodded. “I'll just see if there's an off switch,” she said, frowning as though she were searching through her mind like the pages of a book.

When she found what she was looking for, her eyes fluttered shut and she collapsed.

Rory’s eyes widened and he immediately rushed up to her side to check her pulse and breathing.

“Is that it?” Uncle groaned and rolled his eyes at Idris. “She dead now. So sad,” he sighed, though his tone didn’t convey a single ounce of sadness.

“No, she's still breathing,” Rory assured them, taking a moment to frown at Uncle’s emotionless tone.

Uncle sighed as though he were disappointed and clicked his fingers. “Nephew, take Idris somewhere she can not bite people,” he instructed.

Nephew walked up and Ariel and the Doctor beamed at the sight of the Ood.

“Oh, hello!” the Doctor exclaimed and Ariel giggled delightfully.

“It’s been so long,” she sighed and the Doctor nodded furiously.

“Doctor, Ariel, what is that thing?” Amy gasped, cowering away from the sight of the Ood.

“Oh, no, it's all right,” the Doctor assured her. “It's an Ood. Oods are good. Love an Ood,” he hummed.

“I think the last Ood we saw was-,” Ariel began, frowning as she racked her memory.

“Albert Einstein,” the Doctor finished for her with a nod.

“Albert Einstein!” Ariel exclaimed with a grin. “Oh, I miss him.”

“Yeah, though whenever he spoke it was a bit creepy,” the Doctor winced and Ariel nodded, her eyes wide at the memory. “But never mind him. Hello, Ood. Can't  _ you  _ talk?” He implored. He scanned the translator globe all processed Ood carried. “Oh, I see,” he hummed. “It's damaged. May I?” He prompted, raising a brow at Auntie and Uncle and gesturing to the translator globe. They simply nodded. “It might just be on the wrong frequency,” he murmured as he tried to fix Nephew.

“Nephew was broken when he came here,” Auntie informed him. “Why, he was half dead. House repaired him. House repaired all of us,” she beamed.

The Doctor narrowed his eyes at her and finished repairing Ood’s translator which released the message of a certain Time Lord in distress.

“If you are receiving this message, please help me. Send a signal to the High Council of the Time Lords on Gallifrey. Tell them that I am still alive. I don't know where I am. I'm on some rock-like planet,” Corsair explained, but behind them there were the sounds of dozens of other voices all speaking, all likely Time Lord as well.

“What was that?” Rory frowned. “Was that him?” He asked, referring to the other voices speaking alongside the loudest one.

“No, no,” the Doctor mumbled, shaking his head at the very idea. “It's picking up something else. But that's, that's not possible,” he gasped.

“What is it?” Ariel asked with a small frown.

“That's, that's,” he stammered, but instead of answering, he looked up at Auntie and Uncle with wide, hopeful eyes. “Who else is here? Tell me. Show me. Show me!” He demanded.

“Just what you see,” Auntie shrugged, gesturing at the group beside her. “Just the four of us, and the House,” she informed them. “Nephew, will you take Idris somewhere safe where she can't hurt nobody?” She requested and Nephew bowed his head before carrying Idris away.

“The House?” the Doctor prompted with a raised brow. “What’s the House?”

“House is all around you, my sweets,” Auntie smiled, gesturing to the very ground beneath their feet. “You are standing on him. This is the House. This world.”

“But you said the House repaired you,” Ariel reminded her with a small frown. “How did a planet fix you up?” She wondered.

“Would you like to meet him?” Auntie asked and Ariel’s eyes grew wide at the very idea of somehow “meeting” a planet.

“Meet him?” Rory echoed with a frown, seeming just as confused as Ariel was.

“I’d love to,” the Doctor hummed and Ariel was sure her heart had stopped beating as she met the Doctor with the same horrified and astounded look Amy and Rory were now giving him. 

“This way,” Uncle implored waving the group on ahead of him. “Come, please. Come.”

The group all exchanged wary looks, uncertain of following the strange man, but nevertheless they did as he instructed and began walking forward.

Ariel narrowed her eyes at the Doctor, noticing something off about him. He seemed both excited and terrified at the same time as though he knew what Auntie and Uncle were going to show him, but he wasn’t sure if he was ready to face it.

“What’s wrong?” Ariel asked, taking his hand as she sensed his unease.

“What were those voices?” Amy wondered, guessing that the voices may be the cause of his unrest.

The Doctor took a shaky breath and answered Ariel despite Amy being the one to pose the question. “Time Lords,” he said and Ariel’s eyes inflated. “It's not just the Corsair. Somewhere close by there are lots and lots of Time Lords.”

~~~

They headed inside the spaceship and Amy and Ariel were arm in arm, rambling on about the strange planet. The Doctor stood nearby Uncle and Auntie and listened as they quietly discussed the blessing that was the “House”.

“Come. Come, come,” Uncle implored, waving the group forward. “You can see the House and he can look at you,” he said, pointing to a small metal grating on the floor.

The Doctor cast a curious frown over his shoulder and Ariel simply shrugged, unsure what she could say about the odd planet. With a sigh, he knelt down and peered through the grating. His eyes grew wide when he saw just what was below them.

“I see,” he hummed. “This asteroid is sentient.”

Ariel’s eyes brightened in understanding. It was like the asteroid they had sent Amy and Rory to on their honeymoon. 

“We walk on his back, breathe his air, eat his food,” Auntie listed, nodding to the group.

“Smell it’s armpits,” Amy mumbled to Ariel and she snorted and giggled alongside her friend.

All of a sudden, Auntie and Uncle’s faces went slack and a strange deep voice came from their mouths, speaking through them as though they were mere puppets.

“And do my will,” the voice announced. “You are most welcome, travellers.”

Ariel clenched Amy’s hand tighter and they both cast wary glances between Auntie, Uncle, and the Doctor as he tiptoed closer to inspect the strange voice.

“Doctor, that voice,” Amy breathed. “That's the asteroid talking?” She guessed.

“He’s talking through them?” Ariel frowned.

“Yes,” the Doctor confirmed with a nod as he moved closer. “So you're like a sea urchin,” he frowned. “Hard outer surface, that's the planet we're walking on. Big, squashy, oogly thing inside, that's you.”

“That is correct, Time Lord,” the House said.

“Ah. So you've met Time Lords before?” the Doctor assumed.

“Many travellers have come through the rift, like Auntie and Uncle and Nephew,” the House responded. “I repair them when they break.”

“Oh, how kind of you,” Ariel murmured, her voice devoid of any emotion and lacking any gratuity.

“So there are Time Lords here, then?” the Doctor presumed, raising a brow.

“Not any more, but there have been many Tardises on my back in days gone by,” the House sighed.

“Well, there won't be any more after us,” the Doctor smiled sadly. “Last Time Lord. Last Tardis,” he shrugged, not bothering to mention there was a half Time Lord, half human growing in Ariel’s womb.

“A pity,” the House huffed. “Your people were so kind. Be here in safety, Doctor. Rest, feed, if you will,” he offered.

The Doctor smiled and bowed his head to Auntie and Uncle before turning back to the group with a curious frown. It was the kind of frown he only bore when he knew there was something more to unveil about a place he had entered.

“We're not actually going to stay here, are we?” Rory implored with a raised brow, casting a wary glance back at Auntie and Uncle as they seemed to regain control of their faculties.

“Well, it seems like a friendly planet,” the Doctor shrugged. “Literally,” he chuckled.

“Mm, I don’t buy it,” Ariel murmured, shaking her head as she narrowed her eyes at the Doctor. “You want to investigate.”

“Of course,” the Doctor smirked. He glanced back and raised a brow at Auntie and Uncle. “Mind if we poke around a bit?” He prompted.

“You can look all you want,” Auntie smiled and nodded. “Go. Look,” she insisted. They started heading out and Auntie stepped forward to hold the two women back only momentarily. “House loves you,” she muttered and Ariel and Amy paled considerably as they pulled away and headed back to the Doctor.

“Come on then, gang,” the Doctor sighed, wrapping his arms around Ariel and Rory. “We're just going to, er, see the sights,” he murmured, casting one last uncertain gaze over his shoulder at Auntie and Uncle as they beamed at him and waved goodbye.

~~~

They arrived in the corridor near the brig where Idris was being kept and she was more than delighted to see them.

“Thief!” Idris exclaimed, jumping up like an excited puppy. She started bouncing up and down, wearing a grin that split her face as she clawed at the Doctor, desperate to reach him. Ariel didn’t blame her. That was exactly how her mind reacted every time she saw the Doctor

“Shush, shush, shush,” the Doctor hissed, pressing a finger to his lips, knowing the last thing they needed was Auntie and Uncle nosing about wondering why they were questioning the woman they thought mad.

“So, as soon as the Tardis is refuelled, we go, yeah?” Rory implored with a raised brow, speaking more out of hope then genuine curiosity. He knew that neither Ariel nor Amy liked the place they were stranded just like him, but the Doctor seemed insistent on remaining and further digging into the story behind life on the asteroid.

“No,” the Doctor answered to the group’s displeasure. “There are Time Lords here. I heard them and they need me.”

“But, Doctor, you told me about your people, and you told me what you did,” Ariel reminded him with a raised brow, imploring him to see reason.

“Yes, yes, but if they're like the Corsair, they're good ones and I can save them,” the Doctor sighed, allowing his wishes to take control of his normally logical mind.

Ariel shared a glance with Amy and Rory, thinking just that and knowing they were beginning to think the same thing.

“And then tell them you destroyed the others?” Amy prompted with a small frown, unable to find a scenario where any of them walked out of this unscathed.

“I can explain,” the Doctor assured them with a small smile. “Tell them why I had to,” he reasoned.

Amy eyed the Doctor warily for a moment, unsure what he could be searching for. Normally, he wouldn’t dare stay in a scenario the posed an imminent threat to Ariel and with her falling pregnant, she couldn’t figure out why he would want to stay around when there was an obvious risk to himself and their child.

That was until she saw him wringing his hands and looking down as though he were mournful. There was no doubt amongst any of them that he regretted his actions on Gallifrey, but now that there was a chance for retribution-.

“You want to be forgiven,” Amy sighed, clarity crossing her features as she watched him.

“Don’t we all?” the Doctor shrugged, a small glimpse of hope crossing his face.

Ariel sighed softly and glanced down, knowing she couldn’t keep him from seeking forgiveness from his own people even if the chances were slim to none that they were still alive.

“Doctor, I don’t like it here,” Ariel muttered. “I don’t think any of us do and the way Auntie said the House  _ likes  _ Amy and I,” she winced. “Something’s seriously wrong.”

“I know, but I just have to see,” the Doctor insisted, wrapping an arm around Ariel and pressing a kiss to her forehead. “I have to know.”

Amy sighed softly and nodded. “What can we do?” She asked.

The Doctor glanced around at the group and sighed softly. He knew the best option would be to seek out the other Time Lords alone. His friends and more importantly his wife were in danger if they lingered and even if they weren’t, he wouldn’t want to force them to stay in a place they didn’t feel safe. 

“My screwdriver,” the Doctor said with a nod. “I left it in the Tardis. It's in my jacket.”

“You’re wearing your jacket,” Rory frowned.

“My other jacket,” the Doctor shrugged. 

“You have two of those?” Rory scoffed and glanced to Ariel for confirmation.

“Oh, please,” Ariel muttered. “He’s got a whole closet full of the same jacket. It’s my theory that whenever he regenerates and picks an outfit the Tardis just recreates dozens of the same thing,” she said and Rory snorted.

“Yeah, Ariel, can you show Amy where the jacket is?” He implored, raising a brow at her.

Ariel turned to face him with a small frown and tried to read his expression. Normally, he didn’t ask her to head away for anything but there was a sort of desperation clinging to his eyes that only meant one thing: he was trying to protect her. He knew she didn’t feel safe on the asteroid and he was respecting it.

“Are you sure?” Ariel prompted. “It really isn’t that bad,” she assured him.

“It shouldn’t take too long,” the Doctor promised. “And if it does, I give you full permission to be angry about it later,” he smiled and Ariel giggled.

“Okay,” she nodded. “But if I get worried there’s nothing on this bloody asteroid that will stop me from getting back to you,” she said and the Doctor beamed down at her.

“I don’t doubt it,” the Doctor nodded. He cupped Ariel’s cheek and gave her a chaste kiss before looking up and turning to Amy with a raised brow.

“Okay, we'll get it,” Amy nodded. “But Doctor, listen to me. Don't get emotional because that's when you make mistakes,” she advised before pulling out her mobile and tossing it to him. 

“Yes, boss,” the Doctor smirked, saluting to the Scottish woman proudly.

“Ariel will call you from the Tardis,” Amy smiled before grabbing the brunette’s hand and heading off.

“Rory, look after him,” Ariel instructed, nodding to the Doctor.

The Doctor watched them leave with a small smile before turning to Rory. “Rory, look after her,” he instructed, nodding towards his wife.

“Yeah,” Rory sighed, far past being tossed between the couple to look after each of them.

However, when Rory arrived at the Tardis, he was met with two less than pleased women. 

“I told you to look after him,” Ariel snapped, leaning over the Tardis console with a small frown.

“He’ll be fine,” Rory sighed. “He’s a Time Lord,” he reminded the girl with a shrug.

“It’s just what they’re called. It doesn’t mean he actually knows what he’s doing,” Ariel huffed.

She picked up the phone and began dialling Amy’s phone. There were two short rings before the Doctor picked up.

“Hey, we’re here,” Ariel announced.

“Good,” the Doctor smiled. “Do they know you’re staying?”

“No,” Ariel shook her head. “You’re keeping them here too, aren’t you?”

“It’s for the best,” the Doctor insisted. “You can keep in contact with me through Amy’s phone if there’s trouble. You’ll all be better off in the Tardis.”

“Normally, I’d argue and remind you that we’re past these days, but call it motherly intuition, I’ve just got a bad feeling about that place and I don’t like being round it,” Ariel said.

“That’s fine,” the Doctor assured you. “There was no trouble when you wanted to stay in the Tardis at the beginning of our travels.”

“Yeah, but we’re married now,” Ariel huffed. “It should feel as though something’s changed.”

“Something has,” the Doctor reminded her with a soft chuckle “You’re pregnant, and I don’t want your stubbornness putting the baby at risk,” he smiled.

“My stubborness?!” Ariel exclaimed with wide eyes and a bemused grin. “Who was the one that refused to let-?”

“Is that the Doctor?” Amy asked, picking up the phone and stopping their discussion before they lost track of why they were all there. “Screwdriver's in your jacket, yeah?” She prompted.

“Yeah, it's around somewhere. Have a good look,” the Doctor said. He hung up the phone and pulled his sonic out of his jacket. He sighed softly before using it to lock the Tardis remotely.

Amy turned to the doors with a small frown and glanced at Rory, who was standing right beside them.

“Did you do that?” She asked and Rory shrugged and shook his head. “What the hell?” Amy huffed, marching up and desperately trying to push on the doors to no avail.

Ariel rolled her eyes and moved to the jumpseat, plopping down and tossing her head back, watching as Amy heedlessly tried to get the doors open.

“It’s not going to work,” Ariel hummed and Amy whirled around to narrow her eyes at the brunette.

“There’s something you know that you’re not letting on,” Amy realized. “That conversation you had with the Doctor before we left, what were you talking about?”

“Do you really want to know?” Ariel winced, uncertain if she should tell the redhead prone to an unforgettable temper.

“I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation,” Rory insisted with a soft sigh. 

“Oh, like what?!” Amy exclaimed. “He doesn’t want us to see his new friends?”

“Amy, you know that’s not it,” Ariel moaned. “Why would he try and keep us from a couple Time Lords who’ve been stranded here for God knows how long?”

“I don’t know,” Amy huffed. “But I plan on asking,” she insisted, marching towards the phone.

“Amy, do you really want to phone him all riled up about something that is probably nothing?” Rory implored with a small shrug.

“Better than you lot, just sitting back and allowing him to lock us away as though we might embarrass him,” Amy snapped and Ariel rolled her eyes.

“Just let her phone him,” Ariel sighed. “You and I both know there’s nothing to be done when she gets all worked up except let her have at it,” she shrugged.

“Oh, you two need to stop having conversations about me when I’m not around,” Amy huffed and Ariel smirked.

Amy phoned the Doctor and sighed as she spun around waiting for him to answer. 

“No sonic screwdriver,” Amy hummed. “Also the doors seemed to have locked behind us. Rory thinks there's a perfectly innocent explanation, but I think you lied to us,” she snapped.

“Time Lord stuff,” the Doctor shrugged, sensing Ariel hadn’t told them she wanted to leave. “Needed you out of the way.”

“What, we’re not good enough for your smart new friends?” Amy moaned and Ariel rolled her eyes.

She really had to let go of the feeling that the Doctor was embarrassed by them.

“The boxes will make you angry,” the Doctor mumbled from the other line. “How could she know?” He wondered.

“Doctor, what are you talking about?” Amy frowned.

“Stay put,” the Doctor instructed. “Stay exactly where you are.”

“We don’t have much choice,” Amy huffed, but before she could continue to complain, the Doctor hung up and she rolled her eyes as she put the phone down.

“So?” Ariel prompted. 

“He told us to stay put,” Amy mumbled, crossing her arms.

“That means he’s just discovered something,” Ariel shrugged, not at all bothered by the matter. “He once told me to stay put while I was in the middle of eating dinner and another time when I was going to bed. It’s just his way of ensuring everything stays the same while his mind is all over the place.”

“Oh, well you seem to have an explanation for everything he does except why he put us here!” Amy exclaimed.

“Oh, I know why,” Ariel shrugged. “He knew none of us like staying on that asteroid and he wanted to keep us safe. Normally, I’d fight him on it but seeing as I have a child growing inside of me I figure it’s probably for the best.”

“You make the baby sound like a growth,” Rory chuckled. 

“I think of it that way sometimes,” Ariel nodded. “But I mean, if I had to deal with the stresses of childbirth for anyone, I’m happy it’s him.”

“Are you still going to leave like you said?” Amy prompted.

“Leave?” Rory implored with a frown. “You’re leaving?”

“When I get to pregnant to do anything, yeah,” Ariel nodded. “I’ll come back to raise the child with the Doctor for a while but this kid will still be part human,” she reminded them. “I want them to see life on Earth as well as life on the Tardis.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Rory nodded. “But where will you live?”

“Wherever I like,” Ariel shrugged. “Apart from you lot, I’ve got three different houses that would be willing to take me in. All I have to do is ask.”

“Well, that’s brilliant,” Amy smiled.

All of a sudden, there was a strange rocking in the Tardis and it whined as though it was in serious pain. They all glanced around with wide eyes and the lights on the Tardis began flickering between darkness and some strange odd color.

“What’s happening?!” Ariel exclaimed.

“Check the doors,” Amy instructed. “We have to get out of here.”

Rory pulled on the doors furiously, but to no avail. They were still locked. 

The phone rang and Amy snatched it up immediately. “Ariel! Amy, Rory, get out of there!” the Doctor cried.

“Doctor, something’s wrong,” Amy gasped as the Tardis cried out once more.

“It's House,” the Doctor breathed. “He's after the Tardis. Just get out, all of you,” he insisted.

“What is it?” Ariel asked.

“It’s House,” Amy murmured with a small frown. “He wants the Tardis,” she said before pressing the phone to her ear once more. “We can't!” She exclaimed. “You locked the door, remember?”

“But I’ve unlocked it,” the Doctor mumbled, frowning as he tried his sonic once more. 

“You stupid well haven’t!” Amy snapped as Ariel and Rory furiously pulled at the door.

The Doctor tried his sonic once again before snapping his fingers. “Open!” He cried.

“Oh, give that to me!” Ariel huffed, marching over to Amy and snatching the phone from her. “Doctor, the Tardis lights are flickering and-,” she froze as the Cloister bells began to toll. “That’s not good,” she murmured while Amy and Rory screamed as they tried to pull at the door. “Just tell me, how bad is this going to get?”

“House stuck the Tardis matrix in Idris and plans to eat the remaining rift energy stuck in there,” the Doctor explained rapidly, furiously swapping between his sonic and his fingers as he tried to get the doors open. “You have to get out of there!” He cried.

“He’s going-He plans to eat it?!” Ariel exclaimed with a wide, horrified expression. 

“And you, if you don’t escape!” the Doctor yelled.

“How bad is it?” Amy asked, turning to Ariel with only slight worry marring her features.

“About as bad as it can get,” Ariel breathed. “What if there’s no way out?”

“Then, I’m so sorry, but I can’t help you,” the Doctor muttered. “Not now at least. You have to find some way to get out before he-.”

“Before he eats it,” Ariel nodded. “Yeah, that would be ideal,” she mumbled, her gaze fixed on Amy with wide eyes. 

The Tardis began dematerializing and Ariel winced as Amy stepped back and held out her hand to her husband. Ariel found she was wishing she had the Doctor to hold her in that moment as well.

“Rory, hold my hand,” Amy breathed and Rory grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly. 

“I’ll find you,” the Doctor promised. “I’ll find you, and I’ll save you.”

“Hurry,” Ariel gasped. “I love you.”

Before the Doctor could respond, the line fell dead as they entered the time vortex and Ariel allowed a single tear to fall onto her cheek as she pressed the phone to her chest.

She hated moments like these. Yes, it felt nice to be looked to for guidance like the Doctor was but those moments only came when the Doctor was absent and she felt an enormous weight on her shoulders when she had to find a way out or keep people alive just as well as the Doctor would. It was always her worst fear that she should fail the people looking to her as well as the Doctor by screwing it all up.

“Listen, whatever happens, at least we're together,” Rory assured his wife. “And we're in the Tardis, so we're safe,” he promised with a shrug.

“Yeah,” Amy breathed, not quite convinced as her husband pulled her into a hug.

“Oh, you have no idea how badly I hope that’s true,” Ariel murmured, glancing around at her home now lit up with a sickly green color.

“Sorry, to say it’s not,” a deep voice said bluntly and they all glanced around with wide eyes.

“House,” Ariel gasped. 

“The Doctor said he wanted the Tardis,” Amy nodded.

“That’s right,” House agreed. “And you are in the Tardis. What a great adventure. I should have done this half a million years ago. So, Ariel, Amy, Rory, why shouldn't I just kill you now?” House wondered.

Ariel was certain all of their hearts stopped as they glanced around with pale faces. They were in for hell and the Doctor wasn’t there to protect them. 


	11. The House and the Tardis

“Corridors,” House hummed. “I have corridors. So much to learn about my new home. But you haven't answered my question, children.”

“Er, question?” Rory prompted with a small frown.

“You remember. Tell me why I shouldn't just kill you all now?” House wondered.

“That’s not really a question so much as a threat,” Ariel scoffed, rolling her eyes at House.

“True,” House agreed. “But the query still stands. I’m fascinated to see what you might come up with. Why shouldn’t I kill you all and be done with it?”

“Well, because,” Amy began and huffed when she couldn’t come up with anything. “Ariel, why?” She prompted, trusting the brunette to think of a way for them to survive when the Doctor couldn’t.

“Because,” Ariel mumbled, narrowing her eyes as she leant on the console and thought. “Because, you like to see us jump through hoops,” she decided, pushing herself off the console and glaring at the green lights. “Eating this Tardis would be too easy considering the fact that it is the last one,” she reminded him. “No, you need dinner and a show. You need entertainment for your last supper.”

“So, entertain me,” the House retorted cooly. “Run.”

Ariel glanced back at Amy and Rory with wide eyes and they stared at her desperately, uncertain if they should follow his commands.

“Do it,” Ariel nodded. “It’s the only way we’re gonna survive, so come on. We have to run,” she announced.

She took a deep breath and took off running with Amy and Rory following closely behind. They bolted through the corridors and Ariel took as many twists and turns as possible. There were many nights when she had just wandered through the Tardis or days when the Doctor guided her through, trying to show her as much he could of an infinite spaceship.

Ariel had no idea where she could go where House’s reach wouldn’t follow. If he really did have a hold on the whole Tardis, their only way to survive was to keep running endlessly and though exercise was good for the baby, she doubted either of them could cope with that much.

“So are we having fun yet?” House implored. “I'm rather enjoying the sensation of having you running around inside me,” he chuckled and Ariel scoffed and rolled her eyes. She hated people who were so bored they had to find entertainment in other people’s suffering.

Amy tripped and fell as they reached a perpendicular corridor and Rory and Ariel both bolted over to help her to her feet.

“I've turned off the corridor anti-gravs, so do be careful,” House advised and Ariel groaned.

“Come on,” Amy moaned, sounding just as annoyed as Ariel felt.

“We did promise a show,” Rory sighed. 

“It’s either this or being eaten alive and I doubt any of us wants that,” Ariel reminded them.

“Fair enough,” Rory nodded and they took of running once more.

They ran down a corridor and all of a sudden, a bulkhead slammed shut behind Ariel and Rory, cutting them off from Amy.

“Wha-Amy!”  Ariel cried, running up and slamming her hands against the bulkhead. 

“No! Amy!” Rory screamed, pounding his fists against the bulkhead.

“No!” Amy shouted.

“I’m gonna go round,” Ariel said turning to Rory. “The Doctor showed me a shortcut to get back to the console room from here.”

“Well, I’ll go with you,” Rory nodded, stepping forward as if to follow her.

“You can’t,” Ariel winced.

“Why not?” Rory frowned. 

“It’s through the vents and I dunno if you’ll fit,” she muttered, eyeing Rory’s wide frame cautiously.

“What were you doing with the Doctor in the vents?” Rory scoffed. His eyes grew wide as Ariel’s cheeks blossomed pink and she glanced away from her friend’s gaze. “No,” Rory moaned. “In the vents?! Really?! Is there nowhere you two haven’t?!”

“Nowhere that I know of,” Ariel smirked. “But never mind,” she shook her head. “It might be our way back to Amy.”

“Alright, but if you get stuck-,” Rory began.

“Just wait it out,” Ariel instructed. “What can House do to you when you’re just sitting here?” She wondered.

“Quite a bit, I imagine,” Rory mumbled.

“Just sit tight,” Ariel insisted. “We’ll find a way out of this,” she assured him. 

She walked back down the corridor and glanced around before making her way to the vents. Just as she spotted the vent in the far distance and started to run towards it, a bulkhead slammed in her path and cut her off.

“Oh, no!” Ariel screamed, slamming her hands down on the bulkhead. “Really?!” 

She turned back and began to make her way back toward Rory when a bulkhead cut her off there as well. 

“Oh, seriously?!” Ariel exclaimed. “You couldn’t be happy with us just running about?”

“Why would I when I can have much more fun this way?” House implored.

“You’re sick, you know that?” Ariel prompted.

“Why, because watching you all squirm beneath me is so much fun?” House asked. 

“That’s exactly why, yeah,” Ariel nodded. 

“Oh, but you all are just chess pieces,” House proclaimed. “And the game has only begun.” Ariel wanted to scream out ever curse possible at House, but resigned herself to sitting alone in the blocked off corridor until something changed. He couldn’t have much fun watching them all sit alone forever.

All of a sudden, the bulkhead to Ariel’s left opened and her eyes widened when she spotted Amy behind it. 

“Amy!” Ariel exclaimed. She rushed over to the redhead and hugged her tightly. “Oh, thank God,” she gasped. 

“Where’s Rory?” Amy asked with a small frown. 

“Just down there,” Ariel said, pointing down the corridor where the second bulkhead had been opened. “He was waiting for me to try and reach you.”

“Right then,” Amy nodded and began heading forward. “I think he just likes toying with us. He’s cutting us off from each other and seeing how we react.”

“He’s playing a game,” Ariel sighed and rolled her eyes. “A game which he is not going to win!” She announced loudly.

They rounded the corner to Rory and found him sitting on the ground twiddling his thumbs, looking bored out of his mind.

“Rory?” Amy prompted with a small frown.

Rory turned to them and his eyes widened when he spotted them. “Where have you two been?”

Amy and Ariel shared a confused glance. 

“I walked around that corridor and it came here,” Amy shrugged. “It’s only been a few seconds. 

“Is that how long it’s been for you?” Ariel frowned. “It’s been at least ten or fifteen minutes for me,” she shrugged.

“It’s been hours for me,” Rory moaned.

Amy glanced between them with wide eyes. “It's House, and it's messing with the Tardis. Come on, back this way,” she sighed, waving them back down the corridor.

And just as they began walking together once again, House slammed three bulkheads shut, cutting them off from each other again.

“No! No! No!” Ariel shouted, spinning around and slamming her hands down on the bulkhead.

“No!” A distant voice cried out. “No! Please, no!”

Ariel frowned and slowly followed the source of the voice. What was this game House was playing with them?

She followed the voice and sucked in a sharp breath when she found in a corridor concealed by a bulkhead, she was standing in the same dress she wore now, with blood dripping from her body, clinging to the bottom of her dress. 

The baby was gone. She had been foolish and reckless and it made her lose her child. Ariel felt the fear clench her heart and stumbled away, unable to breath as the terror wrapped a fist around her lungs.

“God, no!” the second Ariel screamed. “No, I knew it was too good to be true,” she sobbed as she clung to the blood at the bottom of her dress.

“No,” Ariel gasped, her eyes wide as she stumbled backwards, beginning to feel sick to her stomach. She glanced down at her hands as her other self did the same and she could have sworn she felt the blood clinging to her fingertips. 

“What have you done?!” A strange voice behind her hollered. 

She turned with wide eyes to find the Doctor marching toward her other self. 

“I’m sorry,” her second self sobbed.

“I warned you about this,” the Doctor snapped. “I warned you about taking these  _ stupid  _ risks, but you were just so stubborn,” he hissed. “And now you’ve cost me our baby!”

“I’m sorry!” the second Ariel cried out.

Ariel clenched her chest and fought back sobs at the sight of the Doctor yelling at her. She took heavy breaths, fighting to erase the image of the blood dripping from her dress as a pair of hands grabbed her shoulders and made her cry out in fear.

“Ariel!” Amy exclaimed and Ariel’s eyes grew wide as she process what she had just witnessed.

She glanced back and found an absent corridor where her other self had once been.

“Amy,” Ariel breathed, trying to remind herself that what she had seen wasn’t real.

“He’s showing you you’re fears too?” Amy guessed and Ariel glanced up at her with a small frown. 

“How did you know?” Ariel asked.

“Because he did the same to me,” Amy told her. “Except I saw Rory with a beard waiting for me and hating me because of it.”

“You were afraid he would hate you after having waited so long outside the Pandorica,” Ariel remembered with a nod. “I saw myself miscarrying and the Doctor getting upset about it.”

“You’re afraid now that you have a baby you’ll lose it and the Doctor will be angry,” Amy nodded. “It makes sense, but remember it’s not real.”

“But it felt like it,” Ariel mumbled. “I felt all the fear I was watching myself live through and the blood,” she breathed, glancing down at her hands, half expecting the blood to still be there.

“He’s just trying to scare us,” Amy insisted. “Now, come on,” she said, grabbing her friend’s hand. “We have to find Rory.”

Ariel nodded numbly and Amy began running ahead of her, only to be cut off by another bulkhead.

“No! Amy!” Ariel shrieked. “Don’t leave me here! Don’t-!”

“Ariel?” A voice said behind her.

Ariel spun around and grinned when she found the Doctor staring at her, his brows furrowed and his head tilted as though he couldn’t quite believe he was seeing her before him.

“Doctor!” Ariel laughed, and started to jump up to hug him when the Doctor skidded away from her. “Doctor?” Ariel frowned.

“What are you back here?” the Doctor asked, his voice tense and guarded as he glared at her. 

“What do you mean?” Ariel asked desperately, stepping forward only to have him step back once more.

“I don’t want you here!” the Doctor snapped and Ariel’s heart sank into her stomach. “Do you not understand?! I don’t want you anywhere near me or this Tardis again!”

“No,” Ariel mumbled, tears beginning to prick her eyes. “Don’t say that.”

“I don’t want to travel with you anymore, you understand?” the Doctor implored. “I don’t want to be married to you. I don’t even want to be around you!” He yelled. 

“Please,” Ariel begged, tears beginning to fall down her cheeks. 

“Get out!” the Doctor barked. “Get out of this Tardis and don’t ever show your face around me anymore!” He roared, marching towards her and forcing her to stumble away from him out of fear, hardly even noticing as the bulkhead opened up behind her.

“Doctor, please,” Ariel pleaded. “I love you,” she insisted.

“Well, I don’t love you anymore,” he hissed. “Now, get out!” He yelled and Ariel stumbled past the bulkhead only to have it close behind her. 

Ariel took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, sniffling softly as she glanced around the corridor. 

“Amy?” She prompted, tiptoeing forward cautiously.

She walked forward and came across another corridor, but Amy was not inside it. Instead, there was an old Doctor sat in a chair. 

“Doctor!” Ariel exclaimed with a large grin. She ran forward and knelt at his side, beaming up at him. She tried to take his hand in hers, but he pulled away before she had the chance.

“I’m a stupid, stupid, old man,” the old Doctor sighed. 

“No, you’re not,” Ariel assured him with a soft chuckle. “You always say you are, but you are one of the most brilliant men I have ever met,” she smiled.

The old Doctor frowned and glanced down at her. His eyes didn’t carry that same light and joy whenever they saw her, they weren’t even cold or angry. They carried no emotion whatsoever and Ariel’s face fell at the sight. 

“Who are you?” the old Doctor asked and Ariel’s heart stopped beating in her chest.

“No,” Ariel breathed. “Doctor, it’s me,” she insisted. “Ariel,” she smiled, tears threatening to spill over once again. “Ariel Parsons. Your-Your Ariel,” she reminded him desperately, clutching at his hand only to have him pull away.

“Ariel who?” the Doctor frowned, shaking his head at her and Ariel’s heart sank.

“No,” she mumbled, standing up and glancing down at the Doctor who didn’t have a clue who she was. “No, Doctor it’s me!” She cried. “Please remember!” She begged, but there was nothing. 

“I don’t know who you are,” the Doctor said, beginning to stand up with extreme difficulty. “But if you don’t get out of here, I’ll have to-,” the Doctor began but his words were lost as he started coughing harshly.

“Oh, my Doctor,” Ariel breathed, stepping forward to try and hug him.

“Get out!” the Doctor barked and Ariel cowered away. “I don’t want your help,” he muttered. “I certainly don’t need it,” he muttered.

Tears fell down Ariel’s cheek as she turned away and a bulkhead opened before her, dissolving the image behind her.

Her eyes grew wide when she saw the young Doctor once more, but lying on the ground, not moving. His normally pristine outfit was covered in dirt and worn down and his bow tie was torn.

“No!” Ariel shrieked. She raced forward and cradled the Doctor desperately in her arms. No matter what she had endured, no matter how real it felt, she would love him to the very end, even if he died hating her. 

The Doctor’s eyes flicked open and she sucked in a sharp breath, wiping furiously at her tears and smiling at him.

“You could have stopped this,” the Doctor gasped through labored breaths.

“What?” Ariel muttered, her eyes wide as she gazed down at the man she loved. 

“Why didn’t you do more?” the Doctor muttered, his voice soft and weak as he spoke. He let out one last dying breath and his head fell back.

“No!” Ariel yelled. “No! Don’t leave me!” She bellowed. 

Blood began to drip from the Doctor’s nose and she screamed. 

“No, no! I can’t let you go!” She shouted, grasping desperately at his suit and burrowing her face in his chest. “Regenerate,” she begged. “Please, regenerate.”

“Ariel?” A voice prompted from behind her and she sucked in a sharp breath as she turned and found Rory looking at her with a small frown. She glanced back at where the dead Doctor had laid and found an empty corridor.

“He fooled me,” Ariel breathed. “Oh, that asshole!” She roared, jumping up, a new fury coursing through her bones.

“What do you meant?” Rory frowned. “What’s happened?”

“The House!” Ariel snapped. “He’s been bloody tricking me all this time. Messing with my head and showing me my worst fears,” she muttered bitterly.

“He’s been doing it to you too?” Rory implored, his eyes wide.

Ariel sighed softly and took a deep breath. “We’ve got to find Amy. We can’t let him get the best of us.”

“Agreed,” Rory nodded. 

“And don’t run ahead or behind,” Ariel instructed. “We can’t let him separate us again.”

“Got it.”

They bolted down the corridor side by side until they heard a sharp scream that was undoubtedly Amy’s. They turned and followed the frantic screams and found Amy kneeling down in the corridor sobbing.

“Amy?” Rory prompted and Amy gasped sharply as she looked up and spotted Rory and Ariel watching her. Her eyes grew wide and she bolted into Rory’s arms, hugging him tightly and clinging to him desperately as she cried.

“It’s alright, Amy,” Ariel assured her. “It’s not real. None of it was real.”

“It's messing with our heads,” Rory said, pulling away and pressing his forehead against Amy’s as she pulled herself together and nodded. 

“We’re better than him,” Ariel promised her friend. “We can beat him at his own game,” she said and Rory smiled softly at his wife, swiping a tear from her cheek.

“Come on, run,” he said, grabbing her hand and taking off down the corridor alongside Ariel.

They raced through the corridors, not allowing House to split them up for even a second so that he may get the chance to play some more cruel and nasty tricks on them.

Eventually, they reached a ladder and without a moment of hesitation, they all furiously began climbing up as though they were in a race with House that they just had to win.

All of a sudden, Rory cried out in pain as though a massive headache had just randomly sprung on him.

“Rory, what’s wrong?” Amy asked, glancing down at her husband with a small frown.

“Are you alright?” Ariel asked.

“It’s like I’m getting a message,” Rory mumbled, his eyes focused on nothing in particular as he listened to whatever message he was receiving in his mind.

Ariel and Amy exchanged a look and while Amy seemed completely lost, Ariel simply smirked. If Rory was receiving some strange message that was knowingly delivered directly into his mind rather than to the Tardis, that meant the Doctor had to have something to do with it.

“What the hell is that?” Rory breathed, seeming just as lost as his wife as he watched the message.

“What?” Ariel prompted. “Who is the message from?” She asked.

“It was that woman,” Rory responded. “That mad woman and the Doctor.”

“The Doctor’s working with that strange woman?” Ariel mumbled with a small frown, trying to find reason behind the Doctor’s actions. “He must have some reason why,” she sighed, shaking her head and deciding it was best not to dwell on it as they ascended the ladder. As they reached the top, Ariel turned to Rory with a raised brow. “What did they say?”

“Oh, well, she gave me a map to this old control room in my head,” Rory said, knocking on his head as though his skull would serve as proof. “Though the Doctor said you would know it. He said it was the control room with his last face?”

“Oh, yeah,” Ariel smiled. “I remember the day I found that in the Tardis,” she sighed. “Now and then I go back just to reminisce for a few minutes,” she shrugged. “You’ll like it,” she assured him with a nod before she turned to start down the corridor.

“There was something else,” Rory said, stopping her in her tracks. “When the woman first appeared she said, ‘hello, pretty’, based on that and what the Doctor said, I’m guessing he was looking for you.”

Ariel snorted and shook her head. “I wouldn’t put it past him,” she sighed. “Still, we have to make do with what we’ve got. I’m pretty sure I know the path to the old control room but House might change it up on me. Whatever map she gave you, we might need to reference just in case.”

“Right,” Rory nodded and headed forward alongside her.

“Guys, wait, stop!” Amy called, stretching out her arms and narrowing her eyes as though she were fumbling around in the dark.

Rory and Ariel shared a frown. Looking at her without the knowledge of what House was doing made her seem just plain daft, but with the added anxiety of House messing with their heads, that comedic scene turned to one of fear and worry.

“What happened to the lights?” Amy gasped and Ariel had a brief flashback to The Library when Proper Dave had thought the lights were turned off as he was dying. The thought alone did nothing to curb her anxiety over Amy’s current state.

“The lights are fine,” Rory mumbled, but when he turned to gaze at Ariel, she gave him a pointed look, reminding him of the green demon possessing the Tardis and their minds. “Oh, it's messing with our heads again,” he sighed in understanding. “Okay, stay there a second,” he instructed, holding out to Amy.

He marched down the corridor and without thinking of Amy, Ariel immediately followed him, not realizing that might possibly be the worst thing she could do in the moment.

“Where are you going?” Ariel asked as they heard Amy softly calling out to them in the distance.

“I’m going to scout the path,” Rory said. “I want to make sure nothing’s changed except Amy’s vision so we can get to the room,” he informed her with a nod. “It looks like this path is blocked off.”

“Oh, yeah,” Ariel sighed, narrowing her eyes down the corridor. “We probably shouldn’t speak openly about where we’re going. Though House can still look into our minds it’ll make it easier to keep the route clear if he doesn’t have immediate knowledge of our destination,” she said and Rory nodded in agreement. “That being said, I know another route we can take and hopefully we can get through that map you’ve got.”

“Sounds good,” Rory nodded.

All of a sudden, they heard Amy’s piercing shriek echoing through the corridors and all the air seemed to be sucked out of the corridor Rory and Ariel inhabited. They shared a look and without a word expressed, they bolted to the source of the scream and found Amy breathing heavily glancing around with wide eyes. When she spotted them, she almost looked as though she didn’t believe they were real.

They glanced behind Amy and Ariel’s heart stopped beating in her chest when she saw the Ood from the asteroid, but unlike all the Ood she had met before, this one's eyes were bright green. She took it that meant he was being possessed by House rather than a toxic third brain or the Devil.

“This way,” Rory breathed, stepping forward and squeezing Amy’s hand tightly. “Come on, run!”

Amy took a deep breath and nodded as Ariel tossed the couple a soft smile. She bolted ahead and while she ran as fast as she could, she found hard not to stray too far ahead of the couple so House couldn’t be clever again.

“I can see now, Rory,”  Amy panted as they ran and Rory continued to drag her along as though she were blind. “I can see.”

“That’s not why we’re running,” Ariel scoffed.

“It was the Ood thing, the Nephew and it's still coming,” Rory nodded, agreeing that they had bigger concerns than Amy’s temporary blindness.

“Okay, first,” Ariel sighed, holding up a single finger as she came to a stop at the end of the corridor where the old control room should have been. “An Ood is not an ‘it’,” she corrected. “They’re a species of males. At least, all the ones I’ve met are male,” she winced. 

“Okay,  _ he _ , is still coming after us,” Rory amended with a sigh as he stopped running as well. 

“I know,” Amy nodded and glanced up at the wall with a small frown. “So where is this place?” She wondered, the only one uncertain of where they were headed.

“This is where she told me to go,” Rory shrugged. “She said she'd send me the pass key. Ow!” He cried out and clutched his head as he got another message. Ariel and Amy both rushed to his side and placed delicate hands on either shoulder to steady him as he listened.

“Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor,” Rory said aloud with the message.

“Petrichor?” Amy mumbled with a small frown as she thought on the word.

“What do I do? Do I say it?” Rory asked no one in particular. “Crimson. Eleven. Delight. Petrichor,” he announced to the wall. “I said it,” he muttered as though they hadn’t heard him.

“No, you don’t say it,” Ariel sighed. “Everything on the Tardis is telepathic. She reads emotions and thoughts. She can listen to what you’re saying but she only really likes you when you show her everything. Emotions. Thoughts. Everything. That’s how she came to like me,” she said with a smile, not at all ashamed of announcing the totally unnecessary fact of the Tardis’s fondness for her. 

“Then what?” Rory frowned. “Do we think the words?” He wondered.

“Petrichor. Petrichor,” Amy mumbled.

“No, you think of their meanings,” Ariel corrected. “You think of the feelings behind them and the visuals that accompany them. You need to give it everything for it to truly work.”

“Okay, but what is petrichor?” Rory asked with a small frown.

“Petrichor. She told you what it meant,” Amy reminded him with a nod. “The smell of wet dust, remember?”

“Yep,” Ariel smiled. “I can try to do the telepathy but it helps if more people are putting in an effort,” she told them.

“I’ll try as best I can,” Amy promised and Ariel grinned.

Rory turned around and sucked in a sharp breath as he spotted Nephew at the end of the corridor. “He’s coming,” he breathed.

“Quiet,” Ariel hissed and the two girls focused on their meanings and imagery. “Crimson,” Ariel mumbled, picturing a crimson flower falling to the ground. “Eleven,” she said, picturing a number eleven on a chapter. She would have pictured the Doctor had she not known that this was far from his eleventh face. “Delight,” she sighed, picturing laughing around the Tardis with all her friends. “The smell of dust after rain,” she said finally, picturing the smell of the grounds around Buckingham Palace after it had rained. 

She repeated these in unison with Amy several times, giving full force to the images in her mind every time she presented them until finally they heard a loud whoosh and the door opened.

Nephew was just a couple feet from them when the girls grabbed Rory and dragged him into the control room.

Ariel immediately ran up to the console and sealed the doors before Nephew could waltz inside after them.

“What is this place?” Amy frowned. “Another control room?” She guessed.

“Yep,” Ariel nodded. “This was the control room the Doctor had with his last two faces. It only changed post-regeneration.”

“Huh,” Amy mumbled. “So, this was technically your first control room?” She realized.

“Yeah,” Ariel smiled. “Oh, I had some good memories in here,” she sighed, petting the console as she had always teased the Doctor for doing.

She remembered first walking inside and being awestruck by the beauty of the Tardis. She remembered when she first began traveling with Donna in that console room and all the nights she had spent lying awake on those very floors after being unable to sleep. She missed the day when all their friends had compiled into the Tardis and worked together to sail the Earth home.

That console had seen her when she first set out on her journey to see the stars. 

“As much as I’d love to take a trip down memory lane, we have to take the shield down,” Rory announced. 

“Why?” Ariel frowned.

“That was part of my message,” Rory answered. “Get here and get the shields down.”

“Alright,” Ariel nodded. “Leave it to me. This was the console I started learning to fly with,” she smiled, walking up and toying with the controls. “Granted I did knock into the tower of Pisa and put a major dent in the eighties,” she chortled.

At Rory and Amy’s expressions of pure horror, she giggled and shook her head. 

“It’s fine,” she assured them with a sigh. “I’m pretty sure I’ve got the hang of it now,” she muttered.

And she did. She took the shields of the Tardis down with little to no struggle.

“Hold on,” Amy frowned once Ariel stepped back and smiled at her. “Are you the reason the Pisa tower is leaning. Because I think I remember the Doctor saying you flying the Tardis was the reason for a national landmark.”

“Yeah,” Ariel shrugged. “It was horrifying at first but it made for some good memories,” she chuckled. “I can already see him telling our kid that their mother is the worst driver he has ever seen.”

“Oh, I can’t wait to see that,” Amy laughed.

However, their delight was soon squashed as House’s voice echoed through the console room.

“How did you find this place? It's not on my internal schematics,” House sighed.

“Yeah, there’s a reason for that,” Ariel scoffed. The Doctor always said that no matter what happened, he wanted safe rooms that they could run too. Rooms that only they knew about and even then the Tardis would change the room occasionally. The old console rooms were those rooms. 

“I had hoped you three could join Nephew as my servants. But you three are nothing but trouble. Nephew, kill them,” House ordered, seeming almost bored with the command.

Ariel jumped as Nephew appeared behind them, marching forward, his eyes glowing dangerously green. Apparently, he had found another entrance. Or maybe House had found a way in for him once he found the trio inside the control room. Nevertheless, Nephew was coming and Ariel ensured Amy and Rory were behind her before he could move any closer.

Rory cried out in pain as he got another message and Amy made sure to look after him so Nephew couldn’t sneak up from behind when he was listening to someone else telling them what they needed to know to survive.

“Where are you coming through?!” Rory exclaimed and Ariel glanced back with wide eyes.  _ The Doctor was coming? _

Rory listened for a moment and when he looked  up, he sighed and glanced at Ariel with concern. “Oh, great. Thanks,” he mumbled. 

“What?” Ariel asked. “Do you know where they’re coming through?”

“No, but we have to find some place safe to stand otherwise we’ll be atomized,” he warned.

“Oh, of course,” Ariel mumbled. “Come on,” she waved to the couple. She pulled them to one of the columns in the console room on the opposite end of the control room from Nephew. “Stand as far behind it as you can,” she instructed and the pair nodded.

“Hold on,” Rory breathed, clinging to the railing for dear life.

The Doctor and the mad woman materialized just before them, right where Nephew was marching, in a shower of sparks. Ariel grinned when she noticed their transport looked exactly like a typical Tardis console room, only without the outer shell. Undoubtedly not placed on because they lacked time and the Doctor liked to play things risky whenever possible.

“Doctor,” Ariel gasped.

The Doctor turned with a small frown and Ariel felt as though she hadn’t seen that wonderful face smile at her for decades. Without a moment of hesitation, she rushed up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

He buried his face in her shoulder and clung to her just as tightly, lifting her up onto her toes and hugging her tighter than he had ever hugged her before, save for when she nearly died. 

“You’re alive,” the Doctor breathed, not quite believing the words as he said them himself. 

“I could say the same to you,” Ariel mumbled, her voice cracking as she pulled away and her eyes raked the Doctor’s face selfishly absorbing every feature as though it was the last time she would ever see him again. After the nightmares she had endured, she never wanted to leave his side, never again. She would tell him everything of course, and she hoped that would make him see more than anything why they needed to be closer than they ever were from now on.

She felt as though she were drinking in the pure beauty of his face for the first and last times and she didn’t ever want to let him go. 

By his side, Idris cleared her throat and Ariel physically felt it as she tore her eyes from the Doctor’s to look at her. 

“Hate to break up the moment, but I thought I should introduce myself,” she smiled. “I’m-,” she began, holding out her hand.

“This is-this is my Tardis,” the Doctor stammered, glancing down at Ariel pointedly. “Except she's a woman. She's a woman, and she's my Tardis,” he muttered and a ghost of a smile fluttered across his face as Ariel laughed.

“Well, pleasure to meet you properly,” Ariel nodded, shaking the woman’s hand and beaming at her.

“She’s the Tardis?” Amy frowned, gesturing to Idris with a raised brow.

“And she's a woman,” the Doctor nodded. “She's a woman and she's the Tardis,” he grinned and Ariel giggled.

She could tell he couldn’t be happier and she couldn’t argue with him. She adored the Tardis herself and she couldn’t deny the ship had chosen an attractive female form.

“Did the two of you wish  _ really _ hard?” Amy winced and Ariel laughed. Even if she had wished for this. It wasn’t a bad wish as far as wishes go.

“Shut up,” the Doctor huffed. “Not like that,” he mumbled, his cheeks turning bright pink as he glanced down. 

Ariel giggled and shook her head as she cupped his cheek. “I missed this you, so much,” she muttered.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the Doctor frowned.

Ariel sighed and shook her head, wrapping herself in the Doctor’s arms to distract herself from the images of the Doctor yelling at her, asking her who she was, and laying dead. “Later,” she whispered and though the Doctor seemed concerned, he nodded and tugged his arms tighter around her. 

“The environment has been breached,” House announced. “Nephew, kill them all.”

“Where’s Nephew?” Rory wondered, glancing around the Doctor and Idris with a small frown.

Ariel winced. “He was right here where the two of you materialized,” she mumbled. 

“Ah,” the Doctor sighed, trying his best to hide the awkwardness of the moment and failing tremendously. “Well, he must have been redistributed.”

“Meaning what?” Rory implored with a raised brow.

“You’re breathing him,” the Doctor said bluntly.

Ariel, Rory, and Amy all winced and fought to cover their noses and stop breathing at the very imagery of breathing in an Ood. It was disgusting and quite honestly Ariel thought it was one of the more gross things she had done while traveling with the Doctor. That and standing in the mouth of a Star Whale and riding its vomit out.

“Another Ood I failed to save,” the Doctor mumbled.

“Doctor. I did not expect you,” House gasped, genuinely sounding startled.

“Well, that's me all over, isn't it?” the Doctor smirked as Ariel beamed up at him. “Lovely old unexpected me,” he hummed.

“The big question is, now you're here, how to dispose of you?” House wondered. “I could play with gravity,” he announced.

The Tardis seemed to rock and they were all tossed to the ground, collapsing atop each other and struggling to get back up until House allowed them to. 

“Or I could evacuate the air from this room and watch you choke,” House proposed.

There was a hiss and slowly the air began being sucked out of the room. They all gasped and clung to their throats fighting to get in each breath. 

“You really don’t want to do that,” the Doctor rasped, clinging to Ariel as he struggled to maintain a grip on the console.

Slowly, the air began drifting back into the room as House decided he was willing to humor the Doctor and hear what he had to say.

“Why shouldn't I just kill you now?” House wondered, genuinely curious if he could give a better answer than the trio as he had quickly grown bored of watching them scramble about his corridors. 

“Because then I won't be able to help you. Listen to your engines. Just listen to them. You don't have the thrust and you know it. Right now I'm your only hope for getting out of your little bubble through the rift, and into my universe. And mine's the one with the food in,” the Doctor smirked, knowing his promise should keep the House satisfied long enough for his plan to take action.

“Water,” Idris gasped, still laying on the ground and clutching at her throat desperately. Without missing a beat, Rory scrambled to her side and took her temperature, helping to keep her alive while the Doctor stalled House.

“You just have to promise not to kill us,” the Doctor insisted, glancing around at House. “That's all, just promise.”

“You can’t be serious,” Amy scoffed, hardly able to believe the Doctor was willing to not only help House but bring him into their universe. 

“I'm very serious,” the Doctor assured her with a nod. “I'm sure it's an entity of its word,” he shrugged.

Ariel tapped him on the arm and raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking if he really planned to bring House into their universe. She knew the Doctor long enough to know that he understood when something still posed a threat to the world, but she also knew he gave everyone a chance. Even the bad guys. 

The Doctor smirked and shook his head. He had a greater plan in action and though it would hurt, it was the best way to ensure House was gone for good.

Ariel took a moment to make sure he did in fact have another plan if he was going to go back on his word to House and with his assurance, she smiled let out a soft sigh of relief. She despised House after what he did to her and though she understood the Doctor’s wish to preserve life in the universe, she really didn’t want House to survive. He was just a cruel entity and a bully and showed no hope for redemption. He shouldn’t stick around.

“Doctor, she's burning up,” Rory announced, his hand still pressed to Idris’s forehead. “She's asking for water.”

“Hey,” the Doctor sighed, glancing back with a soft smile. The smile he saved for the Tardis he had loved all his life. “Hang in there, old girl. Not long now. It'll be over soon,” he promised.

“I always liked it when you call me old girl,” Idris breathed, the ghost of a smile brushing her lips. 

Ariel grinned and as the Doctor turned to address House once more, Ariel walked over to Idris and knelt down beside her. “Here,” Ariel offered. “Hold onto my hand if that helps,” she offered.

“It does,” Idris breathed, her eyes closed as she smiled softly at the brunette and held onto her hand so faintly it felt as though a feather was brushing against Ariel’s palm and the back of her hand.

“You’ve helped me a lot these past few years,” Ariel reminded her, sitting down beside the woman and continuing to hold her hand. “I don’t know where I’d be if you hadn’t helped me feel so comfortable here. You helped me feel like I could be at home here.”

“You are home here,” Idris murmured, her eyes flickering open as she glanced at Ariel. “You are so good for him, Ariel Parsons, and I am so  _ so  _ proud to have known you,” she said and Ariel choked back a sob.

“This feels like I’m saying goodbye to you,” Ariel mumbled with a small frown.

“Oh, not yet,” Idris breathed. “But one day,” she nodded with extreme difficulty as she closed her eyes again. “One day you will have to say goodbye, and I’m afraid we might not get the chance to say it again.”

Ariel sniffled and shook her wiping away a few stray tears from her cheeks. “I think you are wonderful,” she muttered. “I know it’s strange to love a ship as much as you, but love, you are incredible.”

“I like it when you call me, love,” Idris smiled faintly. “It’s nearly as good as, ‘old girl’,” she mumbled. “Almost,” she breathed.

“Yes. I can delete rooms,” House observed. “And I can also rid myself of vermin if I delete this room first. Thank you, Doctor. Very helpful. Goodbye, Time Lord. Goodbye, little humans. Goodbye, Idris,” he snapped.

Ariel’s eyes grew wide as she looked up and the last thing she saw was the Doctor’s smile before a bright light encompassed the room and they found they reappeared in the newer console room.

“Oh, that’s good,” Ariel sighed. She had barely had a chance to process House deleting their room before it was too late. At least her last thoughts weren’t going to be,  _ oh, shit! _

“Yes,” the Doctor agreed. “I mean, you could do that, but it just won't work. Hardwired fail safe. Living things from rooms that are deleted are automatically deposited in the main control room. But thanks for the lift,” he smirked and Ariel could have sworn she heard a scowl in House’s voice.

“We are in your universe now, Doctor. Why should it matter to me in which room you die? I can kill you just as easily here as anywhere. Fear me. I've killed hundreds of Time Lords,” House announced ominously.

“Fear me,” the Doctor hissed, glaring at the green lights as his eyes took on that dangerous glint that Ariel had come to both love and fear simultaneously. “I've killed all of them.”

Rory furrowed his brow as he listened to Idris. Apparently, she was still feeding him information telepathically.

“I don’t understand,” Rory breathed. “There isn’t a forest in here,” he said, but she was far too weak to respond verbally.

“What is it?” Ariel asked.

“She said, ‘the only water in the forest is the river’,” Rory informed Ariel. “Only I don’t know what that means,” he confessed.

“Neither do I,” Ariel shook her head. “That means she’s giving us information for the future. Stuff we need to know later on. Like she did with petrichor,” she reminded Rory.

“That makes sense,” Rory nodded. “But why could we need to know that?” He wondered. 

“Dunno,” Ariel shrugged. “But we won’t know until we get there. That’s how time travel works,” she chuckled. 

“I suppose,” Rory sighed.

“You just wish you knew now,” Ariel nodded in understanding. “Believe me, I know the feeling,” she nodded, thinking back on her days as the girl fated to destroy the universe.

Ariel’s eyes grew wide as she looked down and saw Idris’s hand fall to the ground out of her grasp. “No,” she breathed, unwilling to believe that the woman was really gone. “Rory?”

He didn’t miss a trick and immediately check her pulse and listened to her breath. He glanced up at Ariel with forlorn eyes.

“No!” Ariel cried and her head fell onto Idris’s chest as silent tears formed in her eyes. Her chest coiled tightly as she felt the once living body of the woman she had known as long as she knew the Doctor.

“Yep, you've defeated us. Me and my lovely friends here, and last but definitely not least, the Tardis Matrix herself, a living consciousness you ripped out of this very control room and locked up into a human body,” the Doctor snapped. “And look at her,” he said, gesturing to Idris’s body where Ariel was crying over her.

“Doctor, she’s stopped breathing,” Rory breathed and the Doctor’s eyes widened only momentarily before he gulped and nodded. He had known from the moment he met her that she had to die, but that still did nothing to stave off the burning in his chest.

“Enough,” House snapped. “That is enough,” he hissed.

“No. It's never enough,” the Doctor said, clenching his jaw and glaring at the green lights. “You forced the Tardis into a body so she'd burn out safely a very long way away from this control room. A flesh body can't hold the Tardis Matrix and live. Look at her body, House,” he ordered.

“And you think I should mourn her?” the House scoffed and Ariel sincerely he possessed the ability to mourn.

“No. I think you should be very, very careful about what you let back into this control room. You took her from her home. But now she's back in the box again, and she's free,” the Doctor hummed, smiling a pained, thin smile as he turned to Idris.

Ariel scrambled off her when Idris’s jaw fell open and a thin stream of beautiful golden energy danced from her lips. The energy streamed from her mouth and towards the console, taking back what was rightfully hers and Ariel smirked.

Slowly, one by one, the green lights across the Tardis crackled and faded into the bright shining yellow that she had always known.

“No. Doctor, stop this. Argh! Stop this now!” House cried out.

“Oh, look at my girl,” the Doctor hummed and Ariel grinned as she walked over to his side and he wrapped an arm around her. “Look at her go. Bigger on the inside. You see, House?” He smirked.

“Make her stop!” House bellowed.

“Oh, never,” Ariel beamed.

“That's your problem,” the Doctor nodded. “Size of a planet, but inside you are just so small!” He snapped.

“Make it stop,” House groaned as his control dwindled and he seemed to be on his dying leg.

“Finish him off, girl,” the Doctor hummed and House let out a last dying scream of pain.

As the Tardis regained control and grew adjusted to being back in her ship, it was only a few moments before a beautiful golden hologram appeared that looked just like the human body of the Tardis, Idris. She was giving him one final message before she returned to her place in the ship.

Ariel sucked in a sharp breath as she noticed the woman before the Doctor and tapped his shoulder. He turned and she could have sworn she heard him gasp at the sight of his girl.

“Doctor, are you there?” Idris called out, her eyes searching the ceiling to try and find him. “It's so very dark in here.”

The Doctor took a deep breath and grabbed Ariel’s hand to find the courage he was currently lacking as he stepped forward. He could be brave in the face of danger, but when finding the last words to say in conversation to the ship he had known almost all his life? The ship he had loved and adored, that was there for him when everyone else left. He had no idea how to even begin to speak to her and he needed Ariel to help him find the bravery so that he might discover those words.

“I’m here,” the Doctor breathed.

Idris glanced down and her face brightened once she found him. “I've been looking for a word. A big, complicated word, but so sad. I've found it now,” she informed him.

“What word?” the Doctor wondered with a small frown.

“Alive,” Idris gasped, beaming down at him with the revelation. “I’m alive.”

“Alive isn’t sad,” the Doctor mumbled, his voice cracking ever so slightly when he spoke.

“It's sad when it's over,” Idris nodded and the Doctor’s vision blurred as his emotions began to get the better of him. “I'll always be here, but this is when we talked, and now even that has come to an end,” she sighed. “There's something I didn't get to say to you,” she said, perking up ever so slightly at the idea.

“Goodbye?” the Doctor guessed, his voice cracking as tears began to fall down his cheeks while he awaited the word he seemed to find far too much of in a thousand years of time and space. It always ended in goodbye.

“No,” Idris smiled sadly and the Doctor faltered as he glanced up at her. “I just wanted to say hello. Hello, Doctor. It's so very, very nice to meet you,” she sighed.

At that point, Ariel was certain everyone in the room started crying. It was so easy to fall into tears at that one word. After all they had been through, all the Tardis wanted to say to the Doctor was hello.

“Please,” the Doctor begged, his voice cracking when he spoke. “I don't want you to. Please,” he implored, tears streaming down his face as he watched the Tardis smile down at him.

She glanced to Ariel and grinned at the girl. “Take care of him?” She requested.

“Of course,” Ariel nodded, her voice rough with the tears she had shed over Idris. 

Idris beamed at them all and with that, she disappeared and the Doctor crumbled.

He turned to Ariel and she immediately pulled him into a tight hug as he cried into her shoulder.

Amy and Rory went to leave them be and Ariel took the Doctor to their room so he could have the privacy of relieving the loss to himself. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BITCH, I SOBBED


	12. The Rain Gods

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this minisode takes place later in the series, but I really love so give a girl a break. There's no time in between the Almost People and A Good Man Goes To War and I wanted them to go on one more date with River before then.
> 
> It's short though, so sorry about that.
> 
> ALSO IMPORTANT NOTE: I am debating creating a story with the outtake chapters from this series as this is the last story in the series and I think it'd be nice to be able to finish this and look at all the chapters that could have been but just didn't quite fit. It you want that, let me know. I have a bunch of these chapters saved because they're just too good to delete.

Ariel tugged her coat around her frame and winced as she stumbled on some rocks while marching across a dirt path. She glanced back to River and the Doctor and while he seemed to be desperately racking his mind for some way to get them out of there, River seemed just as displeased as she felt.

Sure, Ariel could be a cheery person when the time was right and she often didn’t stray from a positive attitude when traveling with the Doctor, but after being prodded in the back several times by some soldiers and yelled at so loudly she could hardly make out what they were saying whilst pregnant and starving? She wasn’t exactly happy.

“Okay, so tell me one of you have a plan,” River sighed, glancing around cautiously across the planet.

“Oh, why do I have to have the plan?” Ariel moaned. “He’s the one who brought us here,” she said, jabbing her thumb towards the Doctor. “I’m starving and eating for two mind you,” she snapped. 

“Eh?” the Doctor frowned, glancing between the two women furiously. “Why do I have to have a plan?” He wondered. “You could have a plan,” he offered River and she just rolled her eyes. “I chose the restaurant,” he reminded them.

“A restaurant that we never got to eat at,” Ariel huffed, crossing her arms and glaring down at the feet she was beginning to lose sight of. This is exactly why she had always been a tiny bit happy she couldn’t be pregnant. Now look where she was. She wasn’t even mad that she was about to be sacrificed to some rubbish rain gods. She just wanted something to eat.

“Yes,” River nodded furiously, trying to make the pair of them grasp the gravity of the situation, something the Doctor and Ariel both never failed to miss. “And accidentally took us to the planet of the rain god where we’re now being sacrificed,” she hissed. “Plan!” She barked.

“Okay,” the Doctor sighed. He turned and sniffed the air curiously before smirking and pulling the two women on either side of him closer as he explained his plan. “Plan is, we need to distract them with something before they actually sacrifice us to the rain gods, then when they’re distracted, we run away!” He exclaimed, glancing between the girls with a large grin as though it were the most foolproof plan he had ever uttered.

River and Ariel shared a look. Why they counted on him every time to get him out of messes they couldn’t figure out was beyond them.

“That’s not a plan, that’s just hoping!” River snapped. 

“In his defense, he never really does have a plan and when he does it usually ends in us having to save him,” Ariel reminded the woman with a small shrug.

“Hey!” the Doctor exclaimed, appearing put out that the women he loved didn’t admire his plan. “It’s a start!” He cried, but frowned as he tilted his nose to the air, following a strange scent rather than working on a new and better plan for them to escape. “Can you smell something?”

“Doctor,” Ariel groaned. “I’m tired and I’m hungry and my feet hurt and this is all because I’m carrying your kid so can we please work on some way to get out of here and get some food to ‘em?” She implored with a raised brow.

“Yes, yes,” the Doctor sighed. “I’ll figure out something soon, I’m sure,” he promised with an adamant nod.

“Well, we don’t have much time,” River mumbled, stopping in her tracks and glancing back at the soldiers with a small frown. “Why are they sacrificing us to the rain gods anyway?” She wondered.

“Appeases their wrath,” the Doctor sighed, shrugging as though it wasn’t a half bad explanation for being murdered. “Apparently, it’s very good for the crops, you know. Sacrificing. There is actually some scientific evidence-.”

Ariel and River shared a wide eyed gaze. Was he actually supporting their death to the rain gods because it helps the people's crops?

“Oh, so you’re in favour of being burnt alive now?” River hummed, raising an unimpressed brow at the Doctor.

“If it makes the crops grow faster and healthier, apparently,” Ariel scoffed, chuckling softly that their deaths would amount to a couple more crops growing in the season.

“Just looking on the bright side, dear,” the Doctor hummed, smirking at his wife as she snorted and shook her head at him.

All of a sudden, there was a crack of thunder across the sky and Ariel jumped at the sharp sound only to have the Doctor laugh and jump forward, pointing up to the sky in pride. 

“Ha! Hey, hey, and there it is!” He exclaimed. “Oi! If there are any rain gods out there, you’re rubbish!” He yelled and Ariel’s jaw dropped. She would never cease to be amazed by the overwhelming confidence of the man she loved as he stared down the barrel of the gun. “Strike me dead if I’m wrong!” He cried. 

He backed away with a large grin plastered across his face and Ariel and River shared a wary look.

“What are you doing?” Ariel murmured in his ear.

“Smelling the ozone, dear,” the Doctor smiled.

A crack of thunder boomed across the sky once again and he wrapped his arms around Ariel and River. “Down!” He cried and pulled them both to the ground before anything could happen. 

The thunder continued to rumble across the sky as it darkened and the Doctor winced, glancing back and finding that the two soldiers that marched the three of them out to the dirt road were glancing down at them with curious frowns. The rain gods were not speaking. 

“Oh, dear,” the Doctor mumbled, his plan backfiring massively.

“Sweetie,” River hummed, not at all enjoying their chances of making it out of this one alive if the rain gods really weren’t real.

However, before they could all stand up and admit defeat to their plan, lighting crackled across the darkened sky and struck down both the guards holding the trio there. They popped up with large grins and laughed as they found the two guards, not injured, but crumpled up in a ball on the ground, cowering and covering their heads as a dark cloud loomed over the group.

Thunder boomed once more, but instead of lightning striking them down, rain began to fall.

The Doctor laughed and tore a folded up umbrella out of his coat. He popped it open and pulled Ariel to his side while he held his umbrella with the other.

They all laughed and beamed at the rain surrounding them, their dangerous journey quickly morphing into a fun day in the rain with their survival.

The Doctor chuckled softly and glanced back at the soldiers beginning to come to their feet when they started to realize they weren’t dead. 

“Hey, uh, Ariel, River?” the Doctor prompted. “Run,” he instructed, but neither woman moved. They glanced between the Doctor and the Tardis cautiously and the Doctor smirked as he looked over his shoulder at the soldiers. “Hey, by the way!” the Doctor called. “I think the rain gods are gonna do that again!” He warned.

Ariel and River laughed loudly as he grinned at both of them and began hurrying back to the Tardis before the soldiers could even try and stop them.

They laughed all the way into the Tardis and it was only when they put the umbrella away and the Doctor marched up to the console did River begin to question the legitimacy of the Doctor’s plans.

“That was your plan?” River implored with a small frown.

Ariel took down her hair and combed through the wet bits with a small smile as she skipped up to the Doctor’s side. He wrapped and arm around her and smiled softly down at his wife before turning to beam at River.

His face fell when he saw her not at all impressed, but rather concerned expression. 

“Well, it worked, didn’t it?” the Doctor shrugged, unsure of what there was to worry about.

“Basically, you hoped for lightning,” River summarized with a huff. “That was it!” She exclaimed.

“And here we are,” the Doctor agreed with a small smile and a nod. There was no point in doubting a plan that had worked out in the long run. 

“We should be burning at the stake right now,” River muttered bitterly. She loved the Doctor, that much was a fact, but sometimes she just hated how he could get away with plans so easily. Plans that relied mostly on pure coincidence. 

“It’s lucky for him he’s pretty,” Ariel giggled, smirking up at the Doctor. “You can get away with a lot when you’re pretty.”

“Oh, it’s saying stuff like that that’s gotten you pregnant,” River huffed while Ariel just laughed and the Doctor pinkened. “But need I remind both of you, you can’t go running about willy nilly with a baby on the way,” she hummed. “It’s just adding an extra level of danger,” she warned.

“Oh, it’s fine,” Ariel moaned. “It’s not like I’m seven months and bursting at the seams,” she shrugged.

“Besides, neither of you were in danger,” the Doctor scoffed. “I knew something would come up!” He exclaimed.

“No, you didn’t!” River cried. 

“I did!” the Doctor proclaimed. “I promise, I did,” he assured them with a small smile.

“In his defense, something usually always comes up,” Ariel added and the Doctor grinned.

“See?” He smirked, gesturing to Ariel as though she were living proof that his theory was right.

“Oh, she doesn’t prove anything,” River moaned. “She’d back you up if you said the sky was burning red and couches could talk!” She exclaimed.

“Well,” the Doctor and Ariel said in unison.

“Technically, there are planets where the sky is burning red,” the Doctor murmured. 

“And it’s a big universe, I wouldn’t put it past couches to start talking,” Ariel shrugged. “I mean I’ve met stranger things that could talk,” she shrugged. “And then there was the living fat,” she hummed and the Doctor nodded.

“Though, I would like to find a planet where the furniture could talk,” the Doctor smiled and Ariel giggled and nodded.

“Oh, yeah! Let’s go there next!” She beamed.

“Oh, no,” River huffed. “I love spending time with you. The both of you. But I won’t go on some wild goose chase for talking couches. Even if I wanted to, I’ve got a date with Cleo I’ve got to be getting to,” she smirked as she pulled back her sleeve and glanced down at her Vortex Manipulator.

“Ah, tell Cleopatra I said hi!” Ariel exclaimed with a grin. “When will we see you next?”

River’s eyes widened and she glanced down, fiddling with her Vortex Manipulator to avoid the question. “I really must be going, see you soon!” She called and with a quick blown kiss and wave, she was off.

Ariel glanced at the place she vanished with a small frown. “That was strange,” she remarked. “Usually, she tells us when our next date is,” she mumbled. 

“Yeah,” the Doctor sighed. “But I wouldn’t mind it right now, we’ve got bigger fish to fry.”

“That being?” Ariel implored with a raised brow. 

“We’ve got a meeting with Marie-Antoinette,” the Doctor smiled. “Apparently she’s having a party and there’ll be dozens of cakes on display,” he said. “D’you think that’ll be enough for you and the baby?” He smirked.

“Oh, more than enough!” Ariel exclaimed with a giggle. 

“Then, let’s get going,” the Doctor beamed. 

He pulled the lever on the console and they both stared up with large grins as they watched the time rotors turn into motion.


	13. The Duplicate

After accidentally stumbling on the French Revolution, Ariel and the Doctor escaped just in time after Ariel heard Marie-Antoinette utter the phrase, “let them eat cake.” Still, that didn’t stop them from laughing as she ran to the Tardis in her large 18th century dress, tripping several times and getting a face full of powdered wig every time she did so.

Next, the Doctor, Ariel, and the Ponds persuaded bank robbers to retire from their criminal activates, and had Devela arrested for trying to claim insurance money by causing havoc in the city of Metrolos in the 41st century. 

Answering a summoning from the White House, the Doctor found dinosaurs rampaging in New York, and re-encountered Professor Saurian at Times Square. He discovered Saurian had created a rollback machine, with the intention to send Earth back to the Jurassic. The Doctor sent the dinosaurs back in time, but was too late to stop Saurian from escaping.

Boarding a double-decker bus in 1959, the Doctor discovered the bus was actually a shapeshifter who was luring people onto the bus and consuming them. Saving the passengers, the Doctor transported the shapeshifter to the Elliptical zoo on Vetrama III.

Then, the Doctor, Ariel, Amy and Rory fought the Narduni, an alien race that abducted people and animals from Earth, hoping to gene-splice them into perfect soldiers for their war. The Doctor undid their experiments and returned all the victims to their proper places, freeing the animals from their cages when they were about to be taken to private collections.

That night, the Doctor found Ariel cooped up in the TV room watching Disney movies. He realized something was seriously wrong with Amy.

Not only was she still getting the same botched test results for her pregnancy, but she was still seeing the woman she spotted on Henry Avery’s ship back when they dealt with the curse of the black spot. 

Ariel was five months pregnant and bordering on six and had grown multiple sizes through their journeys, but despite Amy’s test results saying she could be pregnant, she hadn’t grown an inch. In fact, the Doctor noticed that she hadn’t seemed to have grown or lost a single pound while on the Tardis since he picked them up in America.

He knew whoever they were traveling with wasn’t Amy. Whoever had placed a fake Amy aboard his Tardis was hiding the real one somewhere and he had to find a way to not only stop the fake Amy, but find the real one without alarming Rory or terrifying Ariel.

He marched into the TV room and plopped down beside Ariel with a sigh, tossing a thin smile at her. Rufus laid in the room beneath her feet and at the sight of the Doctor, he jumped to his feet and hopped onto his lap happily resulting in an almost pained chuckle from the Doctor.

Ariel took a deep breath and paused the TV before turning to the Doctor with a frown. “What is it?” She asked. “What’s wrong?”

“I’ve worked something out that I’m not at all happy to know and you may not enjoy knowing either,” the Doctor mumbled.

“What is it?” Ariel asked once again.

The Doctor took a deep breath and met her gaze. “It’s Amy,” he said.

“What is it?” Ariel frowned. “Is something wrong with her?” She wondered.

“In a manner of speaking,” the Doctor shrugged. “The thing is, the Amy we’re traveling with isn’t the real Amy,” he hummed.

“What?!” Ariel exclaimed, her eyes wide. “How do you know? Is it sort of like when the Sontarans compied Martha?” She wondered.

“Not exactly,” the Doctor shook his head. “No, this is a duplicate that thinks it’s real. No doubt her memory and consciousness are being directed at it and the real Amy is asleep somewhere.”

“But who would do something like that?” Ariel wondered. “I mean, they could have copied any of us,” she shrugged. “Why Amy?”

“I’m not sure, but I think it has something to do with her pregnancy,” the Doctor mumbled with a small frown. “The scans are turning up as both pregnant and not pregnant at the same time and she originally thought she was pregnant when I picked you lot up from America. That means they would have had the chance to swap her out while you all were back home.”

“Yeah, I suppose,” Ariel mumbled, thinking on all the trips Amy took away from home and alone while she was there. She went to work, she went to the shops, she visited friends all on her own. If somebody really wanted to copy her, they could have done it anytime then. “But why haven’t we noticed until now?” She wondered. “Why hasn’t Rory noticed?”

“It’s not as easy as when Martha was copied,” the Doctor sighed. “She has all the same thoughts, feelings and actions as the original, only she’s not.”

“And you’re certain of that?” Ariel implored with a raised brow. “Because if we try to find a way to stop or control the real Amy-,” she began.

“I’m certain,” the Doctor nodded. “Though I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to check,” he muttered. “There’s a planet we can go to where we can make sure and learn more about this duplicate. I’m sure I’ve got the coordinates back in the Tardis somewhere. They create what they call, ‘gangers’, to do all their heavy lifting for them.”

“Okay, but we have to make it look like an accident arriving there,” Ariel nodded. “This duplicate may have Amy’s thoughts but I don’t like the idea of her realizing we’re purposefully going to a planet where they make duplicates just like her.”

“Of course,” the Doctor smiled.

“Still,” Ariel mumbled, glancing down at her stomach with a frown. “Why would they pick her and not me?” She wondered. “I mean, I know she can be used as bait just as much as any of us but I’d have thought I’d be in a lot more danger having the Doctor’s kid and all.”

“Do you want to be in danger?” the Doctor smirked knowingly. They both knew that while they wouldn’t admit it to anyone aloud, they highly enjoyed the danger and thrill that every adventure presented. No doubt Ariel thought pregnancy would bring forth a lot more thrills and adventures than what she had been enduring.

“No,” Ariel sighed and caught his sparkling eyes when he looked down at her. “Maybe,” she shrugged. “But that’s not the point,” she shook her head. “Amy would be having a regular human baby. I’m having a baby that’s part Time Lord and the child of a man hated by millions in the universe. Why do they want her?” She wondered. 

“That’s a good question,” the Doctor muttered with a small frown. “What’s so special about this child?” He hummed.

“Amy couldn’t have been more than two or three months pregnant when they took her because she was barely showing and she would have noticed she might be after, so where was she two months before you dropped me off?” Ariel asked. “In her timeline, not in ours, because if it was ours she would have already given birth,” she smiled.

“And she can’t have given birth yet because the duplicate is tied to her thoughts and emotions,” the Doctor nodded. “It would have noticed if she were giving birth even if they tried to knock her unconscious.”

“Right,” Ariel agreed. “So, what would make the baby so special that they just had to get their hands on it?”

“Two months before I dropped you off,” the Doctor murmured. “For her that was around…,” he trailed off and his eyes grew wide as he realized. “Their wedding night,” he breathed.

“And their wedding night was spent on-,” Ariel began, her eyes inflating as she began to come to the same conclusion.

“The Tardis!” the Doctor and Ariel exclaimed in unison.

“The Tardis would have been in flight whenever they were in their room, so does that mean what I think it means?” Ariel implored. “Could their kid possibly-?”

“Have Time Lord DNA?” the Doctor finished breathlessly and nodded. “Yes, yes, that is very much possible,” he murmured.

“Even when it’s two humans?” Ariel frowned. “Because I know you told me if I ever got pregnant while the Tardis was in flight the child would be completely Time Lord, but I didn’t think it could happen to two humans?”

“It’s always possible,” the Doctor nodded. “Just because they’re human doesn’t change anything. Time Lords are always made when they’re conceived in the time vortex. The only reason our child is part Time Lord is because of me, when they were conceived,” he said, gesturing to her stomach. “We weren’t in flight, just drifting.”

“So, what? They’re going to have a Time Lord child?” Ariel frowned.

“Somewhat,” the Doctor shrugged. “Because the kid has two human parents they’ll have less regenerations available and a lesser life span, but they’ll still be able to grow past their hundreds.”

“But they’ll still be able to regenerate and have two hearts,” Ariel assumed with a nod.

“Yep, and if anybody got a hold of a child like that,” the Doctor breathed, his eyes widening as he realized there may be a very specific reason why people may kidnap his friend pregnant with a Time Lord. “Let’s just say they’re not all going to be willing to raise children the way the Academy did,” he mumbled.

“I thought the Academy was terrible,” Ariel remembered with a small frown. “After all, look what it did to the Master.”

“Oh, people can make far worse than the Master,” the Doctor hummed. “He always had the potential to be good, but if they took a child from birth. A child with an augmented lifespan and shaped them the way they wanted, it could be very dangerous indeed.”

“Are you saying they would use the child like a weapon?” Ariel asked.

The Doctor spared a wary glance towards her and nodded glumly. 

“God, Amy,” Ariel gasped, her eyes wide as she thought how terrified Amy would be when she found out.

“More to the point, we can’t tell Rory,” the Doctor reminded his wife, turning her to face him. “We have to learn more about this duplicate and stop the signal before he can get emotional.”

“And then what?” Ariel frowned. “We still won’t know where Amy is.”

“Yes, but then his emotions will help us,” the Doctor smirked.

Ariel’s eyes grew wide as she realized and a small smile crept onto her face. “If he’s angry enough and works with us, we could find Amy even quicker than we would alone.”

“Right, and he’ll know that too,” the Doctor nodded. “But for now we can’t let on that we know anything else,” he reminded her.

“Right,” Ariel nodded. “I just hope we can save Amy’s kid,” she mumbled.

“Believe me, I do too,” the Doctor assured her with a soft sigh. 


	14. The Almost People

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bit of a short chapter! Sorry, but I didn't really see a good stopping point for awhile after this

“Forty six?!” Amy exclaimed. “Rubbishy, rubbishy, rubbish,” she tutted, shaking her head in shame at the poor dart skills of her best friend.

Across the Tardis,  _ Supermassive Black Hole _ by Muse was playing chosen by Rory, an ironic choice seeing as they were in a spaceship with no idea of where they might be going. The Doctor had asked Ariel to hang about in the console room, but keep Amy and Rory distracted so they didn’t notice while he was scanning Amy once again to see if anything had changed.

“Oi!” Ariel snapped. “I have an excuse,” she said, gesturing to her large stomach.

“Being pregnant doesn’t stop you from being able to play darts,” Rory chuckled as he did better than her once again.

“Oh, you can shut it,” Ariel grumbled and winced when her dart landed off the board. “Who’s idea was it to play darts anyway?” She huffed.

“Mine,” Amy smirked.

“Then, why aren’t you playing?!”  Ariel exclaimed, tossing the remaining darts in her hand to her. “I’m willing to bet you’d be far better at it than me,” she muttered.

“I think everyone would be far better at it than you,” Amy remarked and Ariel snorted and rolled her eyes. “But I can’t beat Rory,” she shrugged. “He’s better at it than any of us.”

“Oh, I don’t like to brag, but I used to play darts for hours each day growing up as a kid. My Dad and I loved it,” Rory smiled. “It was the only way I enjoyed spending the time.”

“Oh, that explains a lot,” Ariel snorted and Amy laughed. “Nevertheless, I’m rubbish at darts so we need to find something else to do,” she sighed.

Just then, the Doctor turned off the music and smiled suspiciously at the group. “Who wants fish and chips?” He implored with a raised brow. 

The trio all glanced around at each other, Amy and Rory appearing confused at the sudden offer but neither seeming willing to turn it down.

Slowly, Rory raised his hand with a sheepish smile as though he were in class.

“I'll drop you both off,” the Doctor nodded to the couple. “Take your time. Don't rush,” he instructed with a small smile. 

Ariel winced and hung her head, shaking it solemnly at the Doctor’s poor attempt as subtlety. 

“Why isn’t Ariel coming?” Amy asked with a small frown as she glanced to the brunette.

“Fish and chips make me sick while I’m pregnant,” Ariel lied easily with a cool shrug. She was far better at making excuses than the Doctor it seemed.

“But what about you?” Rory implored, turning to the Doctor with a raised brow, uncertain of why he didn’t want to come with them to eat.

“Things to do,” the Doctor sighed. “Things involving other things,” he muttered and winced at the poor lie.

“Well, we'll stay with you,” Amy offered with a shrug. “We'll do the other things,” she said and Ariel turned to the Doctor with large eyes. 

“Nope,” the Doctor said automatically, not even looking up from the console.

“Whatever you're up to, I'd personally like to be a part of it,” Amy huffed, crossing her arms and glaring at the Doctor, silently daring him to keep her out of whatever they were planning.

All of a sudden, a loud klaxon blared and without a moment of warning, they were all thrown backwards in the Tardis. The Doctor scrambled to the console to get a read on what was going on outside while the Tardis lurched and sent them all flying straight into the console.

“Solar tsunami,” the Doctor announced. “Came directly from your sun. A tidal wave of radiation. Big, big, big,” he hummed.

“Oh, Doctor, my tummy’s going funny,” Ariel winced as her stomach began to roll.

“Well, the gyrator disconnected,” the Doctor responded. “Target tracking is out,” he sighed. His eyes grew wide as he noticed something on the scanner. “Assume the position!” He called out to the group and they all darted into the positions they planned whenever the Tardis crash landed.

It was ironic really that this should happen so many times that they decided they needed a position for when it did.

They all ran to the bannisters and ducked beneath the railings convering their heads and pulling their legs closely to their chests.

The Tardis landed with a great big thud and Ariel was thrown backwards, right onto her stomach.

The Doctor grinned as he popped up. “Textbook landing!” He exclaimed, beaming at the Tardis.

He ran over to the scanner while Rory helped Amy and Ariel to their feet.

“You alright?” He implored Ariel with an outstretched hand. 

“Fine,” Ariel assured him with a shake of her head. “Just, give me a moment,” she sighed as she crawled onto the jumpseat and willed the room to stop spinning.

“Where are we?” Amy asked with a small frown.

“Let’s have a look,” the Doctor suggested with a small smirk, waving to the door.

The Ponds shared a shrug and headed out and the Doctor wandered over to Ariel with a concerned frown. “Are you okay?” He mumbled.

“I’m fine,” she smiled. “Just give me a mo, I’ll be out before you can even get them in the factory that makes the duplicates.”

“Alright,” the Doctor nodded. “But-.”

“It’s fine,” Ariel insisted. “Go out,” she instructed, waving him off with a grin. “Tell them we’re in the thirteenth century or something to keep them occupied.”

“Okay,” the Doctor smiled. “But you’ll be out in a minute, right?” He clarified.

“Yes, Doctor,” Ariel giggled. “Now, go,” she sighed.

The Doctor nodded one last time and headed inside while she leant on the console and took slow, but shallow breaths.

“Hey, love,” Ariel muttered, pulling the scanner to her. “Something doesn’t feel right, can you can what’s going on?” She requested.

The scanner flickered on without missing a beat and began doing a full body scan on Ariel. There was a beep and her eyes grew wide at the results.

It was to be expected of course with the life she had been leading and the landing they had, but she didn’t want to see the Tardis bring her the information she had dreaded.

She was being too reckless with her pregnancy and one more blow like the Tardis landing and her child would be gone before she knew it.

She took a shaky breath and hung her head. She and the Doctor really needed to learn to take more careful trips in the future, but a part of her knew that wasn’t possible with their recent discovery of Amy being a duplicate.

They would have to keep taking risks and they would only keep escalating in order to keep their friends safe.

However, if it came down to taking risks while traveling with the Doctor and keeping her child safe and alive, she may very well choose the latter. Though there was still a dangerous little voice in the corner of her mind that told her that one day it would come down to keeping her friends alive and keeping her child alive and would she so easily sacrifice Amy and Rory to keep her kid alive? And the Doctor? If she wound up being the only person that could save him, as she had been many times before him, could she really give him up for a child that was part of him?

She sucked in a sharp breath and glanced at the scanner. “Well, it looks like I’m going to have to make a decision,” she mumbled. She had dreaded this moment when she found out she was pregnant. Making the decision to give up the life she lead for the welfare of her child. She didn’t want to lose the fun and adventure, but she also didn’t want to give up a baby she could have with her husband for it.

That was why one of her nightmares when House had taken over the Tardis was losing her baby due to her recklessness, and now she was on the way to making that nightmare a reality.

She had to tell the Doctor what was happening and make a decision on whether or not she would stay in the Tardis and see amazing planets or times or go back to Earth and remain idle until she gave birth.

“Ariel!” the Doctor called. “You coming?!”

Ariel grinned and glanced down. “Only not today,” she smirked. “Do me a favor and don’t let him see this, will you, love?” She requested and without a moment of pause the Tardis wiped the scans from the scanner.

“Oh, I love you so much,” Ariel hummed. “Coming, Doctor!” She called and without second thought, she skipped outside to join him and her best friends only to hear Dusty Springfield blaring in her ears. “Oh, what the hell is that?” she frowned.

“Dusty Springfield,” Rory answered with a soft sigh. At Ariel’s glance of momentary surprise, he shrugged. “My mum's a massive fan of Dusty Springfield,” he explained and Ariel nodded in understanding.

“Who isn’t?” the Doctor scoffed and Ariel snorted, shaking her head and smiling at the man she loved as he draped an arm over her shoulder. “Right, let's go,” he sighed. “Satisfy our rabid curiosity.”

They ran up some wooden stairs to an empty courtyard with great big castle’s looming over the grounds.

“Oh, this is quite pretty,” Ariel remarked with a soft smile as she glanced round at the area.

“Yeah, but where are these Dusty Springfield loving monks, then?” Amy wondered, looking around at the empty courtyard as the Doctor pulled out his sonic to scan the area.

“I think we’re here,” the Doctor mumbled. “This is it,” he said to Ariel and the brunette nodded.

“Brilliant,” Ariel sighed. “Good it could be in such a cool place,” she hummed. 

“Yeah!” the Doctor exclaimed, pulling Ariel closer with a large grin.

She always did love a good castle, but maybe that was just because she adored the royal family so much that she had fallen in love with castles along with them. Nevertheless, she was happy they could hunt for the source of Amy’s duplicate in one. 

“What are you two talking about?” Rory frowned. “We’ve never been here before.”

“Hmm?” the Doctor implored, raising a brow as he turned around to face the couple.

“We came here by accident?” Amy reminded the pair of them and Ariel glanced to the Doctor with wide eyes.

The brunette raised a brow at him, wondering how he was going to recover this and the Doctor furrowed his brows and shook his head. Why did he always have to be the one to make up for it when they misspoke?

Ariel rolled her eyes. He was the one who had originally announced that they arrived at their location, so he had to pay the price.

The Doctor sighed and shook his head. “Accident?” the Doctor implored. “Yes, I know. Accident,” he muttered, not even bothering to give an explanation as to why they said that.

Ariel giggled and shook her head. She adored the man by her side and it always entertained her all the more to remember that he was over nine-hundred years old and yet still carried the spirit of a little kid deep in his hearts.

As they marched up another set of wooden steps, Rory reached out and accidentally grazed one of the pipes protruding from the castle walls and cried out at the feel of the strange liquid touching his fingers.

“Ow!” He snapped, wagging his hand to get the substance off as Amy rushed up to his side to help him.

“Acid,” the Doctor nodded. “They're pumping acid off this island. That's old stuff. Fresh acid, you wouldn't have a finger,” he warned, hitting Rory lightly on the back of the head with his sonic.

Ariel giggled lightheartedly as she skipped along the Doctor’s side, clinging tightly to his arm as they marched ahead.

“I was thinking,” she sighed. “After we get this whole Amy thing sorted, we should visit Victoria again,” she muttered. “I never really introduced her dog Dash to Rufus and I think that could be a lot of fun.”

“That should be interesting,” the Doctor chuckled. “Seeing as Dash is a quarter of Rufus’s size.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Ariel giggled. “After all, we can’t piss her off more than Prince Albert’s funeral,” she shrugged.

“You’re not wrong there,” the Doctor laughed.

All of a sudden, an alarm began blaring. “Intruder alert. Intruder alert,” a voice announced.

“Oh, I’m guessing that would be us?” Ariel smirked.

“You’d guess right,” the Doctor chuckled. “Come on, we need to-.”

“Doctor!” Ariel cried. “Who the hell are they?” She breathed pointing to a group of people marching towards them in what appeared to be space suits, but their skins were sickly pale and their noses were all strangely soft and almost molded in with their skin as though they didn’t need to breathe, but had the noses anyway.

The Doctor frowned and pulled out his sonic while keeping a strong hand around Ariel’s, ready to bolt at any moment. “They’re like Amy,” the Doctor murmured. “Almost people.”

“We have to go and get them,” Ariel said, turning to nod at the Doctor. 

“Right,” the Doctor muttered. He pulled Ariel back to where Amy and Rory were still standing. “There are people coming,” he announced.  “Well, almost,” he corrected with a shrug.

“Almost coming?” Amy guessed, raising a brow at the Doctor.

“Almost people,” the Doctor corrected with a shake of his head.

The Doctor grabbed Ariel’s hand and they took off running towards the almost people and Amy followed right after them. However, Rory lingered behind shaking his head at the trio. He would never understand how they all seemed more than happy to run straight into the face of danger.

“I think we should really be going,” Rory mumbled, shaking his head and knowing in his heart of hearts that he was the only sane one speaking. The other three would run straight into the middle of a fire if someone was screaming in fear in the midst of it.

“Come on!” Amy hollered.

“I'm telling you,” Rory huffed. “When something runs towards you, it is never for a nice reason!” He cried just as Amy ran back toward him and pulled him along with her so they could run towards the chaos.

They headed into the castle and stumble right across a harness room with exact look alikes of the people they saw outside strapped up and unconscious.

“What are all these harnesses for?” Amy wondered, frowning at the people as she spun around in circles to glimpse at all of them.

“The almost people?” Rory guessed with a raised brow and Ariel nodded.

“Hit the nail right on the head,” she hummed.

“What are they, prisoners, or are they meditating, or what?” Amy asked, listing endless possibilities.

“Well, at the moment they fall into the ‘or what’ category,” the Doctor replied and they all nodded in understanding.

“Halt and remain calm!” A voice over the intercoms ordered.

The Doctor stumbled around for a moment before planting his feet firmly on the ground and halting as the man had instructed.

“Well, we've halted,” the Doctor nodded. “How are we all doing on the calm front?” He wondered, glancing around at the trio with a small smile.

Just then, right from the door they had entered in, a group of three people in orange jumpsuits marched inside.

“Don’t move!” One of the men to the right of the trio yelled.

“Stay back, Jen,” the man to the left of the trio sighed to the girl in the middle. “We don't know who they are.”

“So let's ask them,” the girl, Jennifer, shrugged. “Who the hell are you?”

“Well, I'm the Doctor, and this is Ariel, Amy and Rory, and it's all very nice, isn't it?” the Doctor smirked, shrugging nonchalantly at the group.

“Oh, and a baby!” Jennifer exclaimed a bright grin lighting up her face as she rushed towards Ariel and placed her hands on the brunette’s stomach.

“You’re lucky I really am pregnant or else that would have been  _ really  _ offensive,” Ariel chortled.

Amy frowned as she doubled back and cast her gaze to the people in harnesses, all appearing identical to the ones standing before them.

“Hold up,” Amy muttered, holding up a hand to stop them as though this was all getting a bit too much to handle. “You're all. What are you all? Like identical twins?” She wondered, glancing between the people in harnesses and the ones standing in front of them.

Before any of them could answer her or Ariel or the Doctor could even explain they were duplicates, two more people marched inside donning large spacesuits.

“This is an Alpha Grade industrial facility,” an older woman announced. “Unless you work for the military or for Morpeth Jetson, you are in big trouble,” she hummed.

“Actually, you're in big trouble,” the Doctor corrected. He pulled out his psychic paper and handed it to her.

“Meteorological Department?” the woman frowned, narrowing her eyes at the paper as though she were checking it for faults. “Since when?”

“Since you were hit by a solar wave,” the Doctor replied coolly.

“Which we survived,” the woman muttered, not appearing impressed in the slightest.

“Just, by the look of it,” the Doctor nodded, glancing around as though the castle were falling to bits around them. “And there's a bigger one on the way,” he warned.

“Which we'll also survive,” the woman huffed. “Dicken, scan for bugs,” she instructed the man by her side.

“Backs against the wall,” one of the men from the original three commanded. “Now.”

The four of them backed away slowly as the Doctor dissected what was happening for the others. 

“You're not a monastery, you're a factory. Twenty second century army-owned factory,” the Doctor explained.

“You’re army?” Amy frowned, narrowing her eyes at the group as though she had still expected certain people to appear a certain way even after a year of traveling with the Doctor.

“No, love,” the older woman shook her head. “We're contractors, and you're trespassers,” she snapped as the man, Dicken, scanned the four of them.

“It’s clear, boss,” Dicken announced.

“All right, weatherman, your ID checks out,” the older woman sighed. “If there's another solar storm, what are you going to do about it? Hand out sunblock?” She scoffed, smirking as the other workers snorted in amusement.

“I need to see your critical systems,” the Doctor hummed, marching forward and glaring down at the woman, not at all amused.

“Which one?” the woman asked.

“You know which one.”


End file.
